The effect of seed coat removal on seed germination of Terminalia superba Engl. & Diels

The influence of four constant temperatures: 20°C, 25°C, 30°C, 35°C and three germination media: 1% water agar, heat sterilized river sand and seed testing paper (STP) on the germination of decoated seeds of Terminalia superba Engl. & Diels. were investigated. The germination media were placed in 90 mm diameter plastic Petri dishes with seventy five decoated seeds in 3 replicates of 25 seeds. The statistical design used in the investigation was a completely randomized design in a 3 x 4 factorial (germination media × incubation temperatures). Decoated seeds of T. superba germinated at all the four temperatures investigated. The optimum temperatures were determined as 25°C, 30°C and 35°C. All the three media can be considered ideal for the reason that these temperatures interacted with the germination media to record germination percentages ranging from 73 to 89% in the study. Mean germination time (MGT) was significantly (p < 0.001) shorter when agar was used as germination media compared to when germination was carried out on STP and soil. The shapes of germination curves describing the cumulative germination of decoated seeds of T. superba at all temperatures and on all the germination media investigated are S-shaped. published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES