Abstract

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the effects of smoke treatments on seed germination of eight savanna-woodland species: Acacia dudgeoni, Acacia seyal, Acacia macrostachya, Tamarindus indica, Burkea africana, Cassia sieberiana, Prosopis africana and Piliostigma thonningii. The smoke treatments applied were direct exposure to aerosol smoke derived from different fuel types; a mixture of fuels for varying exposure times; soaking in smoked water or smoking of seeds buried in sand. The result shows a significant difference in percentage germination among species; the highest being for A. dudgeoni and A. macrostachya. Smoke derived from perennial grass and wood fuel depressed the germination of all species compared to the control. Percentage germination significantly differed between 30 min exposure and the control but not among exposure times to smoke. Smoking of buried seeds increased the percentage germination of T. indica (33%) and A. dudgeoni (86%) while smoked water depressed the germination of A. macrostachya seeds. Smoke treatments consistently shortened the mean germination time compared to the control. Provided that the dosage-response levels are further optimised, cold smoke could be adopted as a pretreatment to enhance the rate of germination and to break seed dormancy; thereby ensuring production of even-aged seedlings in nurseries.

Published in

Seed Science and Technology
2005, volume: 33, number: 2, pages: 315-328
Publisher: ISTA-INT SEED TESTING ASSOC

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