INFLUENCED OF SEED WEIGHT ON EARLY GROWTH OF Acacia senegal (Linn) Willd (Gum Arabic) SEEDLINGS

Seed weight has enormous influence on the germination rate and growth performance of many species which necessary is for productivity and sustainability. Study was carried out to examine the effects of seed weight on germination and early growth of Acacia senegal (Linn) Willd (Gum Arabic) seedlings. The work was conducted in the Forestry nursery of Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Federal University Dutse, Jigawa state. Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was employed with three (3) treatments of twenty replications (20) making sixty samplings. The seed weights used were classified into three groups: Heavy seeds (1g and above), Medium seeds (0.5-0.9 g) and Light seeds (0.1- 0.4g). Germination counts and early growth parameters were assessed. Data were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 probability level and descriptive statistics such as bar chart was used. It is interesting to note that the study found that heavy seeds (1g) had an earlier germination rate and better early growth performance compared to intermediate-weight (0.5 - 0.9g) and light-weight (0.4 - 0.1g) seeds. The heavy seeds showed the best overall performance, according to the results. Heavy seeds showed the best performance. Therefore, heavy weight seeds were recommended for planting, plantation establishment and nursery studies.