Overcoming Germination Barriers in Teak (Tectona grandis) by Exploring Drupe Anatomy
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Authors
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UMARANI R
Seed Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Author
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MURUGESHWARI T
Seed Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Author
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ASHOKNARAYANAN S
Seed Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Author
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EEVERA T
Seed Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Author
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TILAK M
Department of Agroforestry, Forest College and Research Institute, Mettupalayam, Tamil Nadu, India
Author
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VANITHA C
Seed Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Author
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M MOHAMED FAISAL
Department of Forest Biology and Tree Improvement, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala, India
Author
Keywords:
Teak, Seed germination, Fruit structure, Mechanical seed dormancy, After-ripening, Dormancy breakingAbstract
The teak tree is being grown worldwide for its most valuable timber. The drupe is a compound seed structure that contains 0–4 seeds. The seeds are inside the quadrilocular, hard endocarp known as the stone, surrounded by a thin exocarp and a thick corky mesocarp. The indehiscent drupes are sown as such in the nursery to raise the seedlings. Although some of the drupes initiate germination within ten days of sowing, it may take up to one year to germinate the entire lot. Only 25–35 percent of seeds germinate within 10–90 days of sowing. The poor, erratic, and sporadic germination leads to the production of highly heterogeneous seedlings. Continuous research has been conducted over the past century to standardize appropriate pre-sowing treatments. Four treatments have been experimented with: alternate soaking and drying, with and without active ingredients, removal of the exocarp and mesocarp, and heat treatment. Most studies used alternate soaking and drying treatments, followed by removing the exocarp and mesocarp. Thus, most researchers believed that the pericarp of the drupe was the primary factor affecting germination. Many reports also claimed that seeds from older drupes registered better seed germination than those from fresh drupes. Other than drupe characteristics, factors related to seed per se (e.g., seed dormancy, seed viability, seed vigour) may also influence seed germination of teak drupes. Based on an extensive review of research conducted on drupe germination, the candidate factors that may affect the seed germination of teak drupes have been adjudged and subjected to comprehensive analysis. Against this back drop, it is concluded that an appropriate drupe treatment protocol to overcome the barriers of teak drupe germination requires a 4-step protocol: i) Size grading of the drupes with sieves of > 9 mm diameter to remove the empty drupes in a seed lot to a certain extent ii) Removal of the mesocarp of the drupes, either by mechanical or biological methods, to overcome mechanical dormancy iii) Exposure of endocarps (after removal of mesocarp) to dry heat for an optimum temperature and duration, to facilitate the ‘after-ripening’ of the embryo and finally iv) Priming of teak endocarps to enhance the seed vigour status.
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