SUCCESSFUL STORAGE OF PRETREATED, READY-TO-SOW SEEDS OF LEUCAENA LEUCOCEPHALA

Abstract

Untreated seeds of Leucaena leucocephala exhibited 26% germination capacity and 90% viability. Germination capacity was stimulated to an average of 74% by chipping and suitable durations of boiling (100 °C) or hot (90, 80, 70 °C) water. Untreated and pretreated seeds were then stored at 8% moisture content (fresh weight basis) and 4 °C for 4,8,16, 32 and 64 weeks. Neither group (untreated or pretreated) showed any loss of viability or decrease in germination capacity over these storage periods and there was no change in germination speed (measured as "mean germination time", mgt) amongst untreated or chipped seeds. However, for all boiling/hot water pretreatments, not only were the beneficial effects of dormancy breakage retained throughout storage, but germination
speed improved with increasing storage interval. The rate of improvement to mgt was described by a quadratic function. Boiling/hot water pretreated seeds of L. leucocephala not only resisted deterioration over 64 weeks storage, but their
subsequent performance appeared to improve.