Seed maturation under artificial conditions for immaturely collected tree seeds in Burkina Faso [West Africa]
2001
Sahlen, K. (SLU Dept. of Silviculture, S-90L83 Umea (Sweden) Sawadogo, L.
Burkina Faso is situated in a semiarid area in West Africa, where seed coat dormancy and insect damage are common problems among tree species. To determine whether it is possible to address these problems, fruits of Acacia macrostachya, Cassia sieberiana, Piliostigma thonningii, P. reticulatum and Ziziphus mauretania were collected weekly for 5 weeks (20/11 1995 to 1/1 1996) in the Tiogo forest. The fruits were subsequently stored at ambient temperature (25 deg C) and in a refrigerator at +5 deg to +10 deg C for 29 weeks. The moisture content of the first collection was greater than 50%. At the last collection, natural seed dispersal had occured for all species except P. thonningii. The moisture content decreased at a slower rate for seeds stored at ambient temperature than in a refrigerator. The germination capacity of Acacia macrostachya three weeks after collection (25/12) was higher (73%) after cold storage than after ambient storage (39%). A similar difference was also found for C. sieberiana with 70% and 0% germination, respectively, after collection 11/12. This difference remained after 29 weeks storage. For A. macrostachya, P. thonningii and P. reticulatum, most seeds stored at ambient temperature were insect damaged, whereas almost no insect damage occured during cold storage
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