Enhancement of Acacia cyanophylla Seed Germinability and Vigor through salt Hardening Technique

Document Type : Original Article

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1 the Range and Forestry (Natural Resources) Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tripoli, Tripoli – Libya. Phone: +218-928010223

2 Range and Forestry (Natural Resources) Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tripoli, Tripoli – Libya. Phone: +218-928010223

Abstract

Hardening is a seed technique that has been successfully used for enhancing seed vigor for many crops. However, there is dearth information on the influence of hardening treatments on tree and shrub seeds. Thus, this experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of salt-hardening treatments on germination and seed vigor of Acacia cyanophylla seeds. The seeds were presoaked in 10 mmole CaCl2, NaCl or KCl for 16 h followed by drying back for 16 h (approximately to their original weight). Untreated seeds were used as a control. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. As compared to untreated seeds, results indicated that salt-hardening treatments improved final germination percentage (FGP) to 100% in CaCl2-HD treatment. KCl-HD and CaCl2-HD treatments decreased significantly  mean germination time (MGT), increased  mean germination rate (MGR) and coefficient of velocity of the germination (CVG). Salt-hardening treatments also increased significantly the germination index and germination rate index. However, the values of these measured indices were higher in KCl-HD treatment. Consequently, the application of KCl-HD resulted in germination value (GV), significantly greater than all applied treatments. This study demonstrates that KCl-HD treatment is effective for enhancing seed vigor of Acacia cyanophylla seeds. 

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