Abstract
One of the most important management strategies of indigenous plant species in Zimbabwe is based on seed preservation and propagation. Although seeds of some indigenous plants easily germinate, many native plant species in Zimbabwe have one of several types of dormancy. To this end, the present study examines different pre-treatment methods for seed germination improvement of Vitex payos and Azanza garckeana. In this investigation, six treatments (T) were applied to randomly selected viable seeds: T1 untreated seeds (control), T2 pre-chilling for 6 h, T3 boiling for 5 min, T4 filing, T5 soaking in 98% concentrated sulphuric acid for 5 min and T6 soaking in 0.1% potassium nitrate for 5 min. For each of the six treatments, 12 seeds were used and three replicates were done. The pre-treatment responses of seeds were compared with control responses (T1). Three germination indices (final germination percentage (FG), mean daily germination (MDG) and germination rate (GR) were observed daily for 35 days. Results show that germination indices were significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced by treatments. Percentage germination varied significantly (p < 0.05) between pre-treatments, with T5 recording the highest mean germination for V. payos (41.6%) and T3 recording the highest for A. garckeana (47.2%).We therefore, recommend acid pre-treatment of V. payos and boiling for A. garckeana seeds for breaking seed dormancy.
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We wish to acknowledge the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Great Zimbabwe University and NAM S&T Center for organizing the conference. We want to thank the community leaders in Chivi district for their support.
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Makuvara, Z., Marumure, J., Chidoko, P. (2022). Effects of Different Seed Pre-treatments on Enhancing Germination of Selected Indigenous Plant Species in Chivi District, Masvingo, Zimbabwe. In: Poshiwa, X., Ravindra Chary, G. (eds) Climate Change Adaptations in Dryland Agriculture in Semi-Arid Areas. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7861-5_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7861-5_19
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