Comparative study of various pretreatment on seed germination of Dalbergia cochinchinensis

Abstract

Abstract Dalbergia cochinchinensis belongs to family Fabaceae, is a hardwood tree species listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This species is a slow-growing and it is threatened by overexploitation for its timber and illegal logging. Because of the increased demand for the timber, the species is rapidly disappearing in many habitats and threatened to extinction in the near future. Prevention of illegal logging and conservation efforts are required to protect the species. Seed germination and seedling growth is a critical step for the abiding conservation of plant germplasm. An experiment was to find out appropriate pre-sowing treatment for maximizing the germination. Eighteen pre-sowing treatments were used for both the seeds sown on moist filter paper and soil. Data was collected daily for calculated germination percentage, mean germination time, mean germination rate and growth performance. Results revealed that hot water treatment was effective to increase the germination rate comparison to the control and other treatments such as cold treatment and scarification. Significantly higher germination percentage (34.4%) and mean germination rate (0.17) were recorded in seeds were soaked in hot water 70 °C for 1 min (T1). Beside, seedling growth such as number of leaves, leaf length and seedling height originated from hot water treatment performed significantly higher than others. The results indicated that seeds treated with hot water had profound and significant impact on seed germination and growth of D. cochinchinensis.