Various presowing treatments for enhancing Melia dubia (Cav.) seed germination, seedling development, and vigor index

Melia dubia (Cav.) is one of the most promising agroforestry multipurpose tree species. However, there is a shortage of this quality planting material due to its low germination ability. Our study assessed six different presowing treatments, namely, soaking in tap water for 24 h, soaking in a cow dung slurry for 7 days (CDS), scarification with 50 % H₂SO₄ for 5 min, soaking in 200 ppm gibberellic acid (GA3) for 24 h, and soaking in CDS + H₂SO₄, GA3 + H₂SO₄ or the control (no application), for enhancing seed germination and growth in Melia dubia during 2019–20 in the Indo-Gangetic Plains region. STAR version 2.0.1 was used to analyze the observed data using one-way ANOVA. The results of this study showed that different treatments substantially impacted the germination and growth of Melia dubia. Compared with those of untreated seeds (control), the germination percentage of seeds treated with cow dung slurry significantly increased by 49 %, the biomass percentage significantly increased by 25 %, and the vigor index significantly increased by 79 %. In conclusion, our study revealed that treating Melia dubia seeds with cow dung slurry for a period of 7 days enhances germination and seedling growth and is also cost-effective for nursery managers and farmers due to the absence of associated costs.