Abstract
Studies were carried to find the effect of pre - sowing seed treatments on field emergence and seedling growth of palmyrah. The seeds were subjected to water soaking for 24 hours, soaking in 1% and 2% of cow dung solution, KNO3, H2O2 and CaOCl2 for 24 hours and dry seeds served as control. 120 days after sowing the observations were made on days taken for initial emergence, field emergence (%) and 210 days after sowing the observations were made on field emergence (%), seedling height (cm) and number of leaves per seedling. The results revealed that seeds soaked in 1% cow dung solution for 24 hrs took 102 days for initial emergence followed by seeds soaked in 1% CaOCl2 for 24 hrs (103 days), 210 days after sowing the seeds soaked in 1% CaOCl2 for 24 hrs. recorded the highest field emergence of 56 % and more number of leaves/seedling (2.1) when compared to control. It is recommended that palmyrah seeds soaked in 1% CaOCl2 for 24 hrs enhance the germination, field emergence and seedling growth.
Keywords
Borassus flabellifer, pre-sowing seed treatment, field emergence, seedling growth