IMPROVING GERMINATION IN TWO AUSTRALIAN ACACIAS

Abstract

Studies were conducted in 1998 to improve germination in two acacia species, namely, Acacia crassicarpa and Acacia mangium at the National Pulses Research Centre, Pudukkottai, India. Mature pods were collected from seven-year-old trees and seeds were extracted by manual shelling and sown after inundating them with hot (80 °C) and cold (26 °C) water, in polypots filled with nursery mixture. Germination and related attributes were evaluated. The results revealed that inundating seeds of both species with hot water enhanced germination and related attributes. Germination increased by five folds in A. crassicarpa and six folds in A. mangium. Inundating seeds with cold water showed a poor germination of only 15%. The germination indices, namely, germination value, germination energy and germination relative index, were also high in seeds inundated with hot water in both the species. It was concluded from the study that germination in both species could be increased to as high as 90% by inundating the seeds with hot water and soaking them for 24 hours.