The determination of the suitability of seeds of some economically valuable Ghanaian forest tree species for seed banking

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2002-12-14
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Abstract
The preferred method of ex-situ conservation, with present technology, is through storage as seed. Research in seed storage has overwhelmingly been done with crop plants. Many of these plants are of early succession, a habitat in which many species in nature possess seed dormancy. It may be expected that plant species in humid tropical environment, where the majority of endangered species now occur, will more often and even predominantly possess seeds which lack dormancy and will prove recalcitrant to induction of dormancy using current methods. This study assessed the potential of the seeds of three forest plant species, namely, Pericopsis elata, Entandrophragma angolense and Khaya ivorensis as candidates for seed banking. The effects of moisture content, storage temperature and storage period on seed viability were investigated. The effect of seed moisture content on viability was studied using the International Seed Testing Association rules (ISTA, 1993). The viability of seeds was determined using the standard germination test. The results indicated that the three species produce seeds which are highly viable. Seed moisture content was found to have no significant effect on viability of freshly collected seeds of the three species. However, during storage, viability of seeds was significantly affected by temperature, moisture content and storage period. Viability of seeds significantly declined with increase in storage period. Seeds stored at very cold conditions performed poorly, possibly due to the damage caused to the seeds under such conditions. Seeds lost their viability rapidly when they were stored at room temperature with their moisture content at 12% and this was attributed to active metabolism under relatively high temperature and moisture content. The optimal temperature and moisture content for storage of seeds of the three species were found to be 3°C and 6% respectively.
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A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science degree, 2002
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