Germination of Terminalia Sericea Buch. Ex Dc Seeds: the Effects of Temperature Regime, Photoperiod, Gibberellic Acid and Potassium Nitrate

In an effort to improve and promote the propagation of Terminalia sericea, the effects of temperature, photoperiod and growth regulators on seed germination were investigated. Seeds were tested with different temperature regime (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40C) and in photoperiod (4/20, 8/16, 12/12, 16/8 light/dark hrs and 24 hours continuous dark). Pre-treatments with growth regulators were done with solutions of gibberellic acid (GA3) at (50, 100, 200, 400 ppm) and potassium nitrate (KNO3) at (2000, 4000, 6000, 8000 ppm). The effects of temperature regime, photoperiod and gibberellic acid were significant (p< 0.001). Optimum temperature regime was found at 25°C with germination 35% while photoperiod of 12/12 light/dark hr had relatively high germination 33%. Highest germination 67% was obtained with pre treatment of GA3 at 400 ppm. Pre treatments with KNO3 had insignificant effect and generally had the lowest percentage of seed germination. These results have significant implication on the best methods to be used in improving seed germination of T. sericea.