Effects of hormones applications on the germination of six populations of Garcinia kola Heckel (Guttiferae) seeds

Abstract

The present study was carried out to investigate laboratory germination responses of six collections of Garcinia kola seeds to six different hormonal pre-germination treatments. This consisted of soaking seeds for three days in cool distilled water (control), in cool distilled water supplemented with 10-4 M of either naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), benzylaminopurin (BAP), kinetin (Kin) or gibberellic aicid 3 (GA3). The results showed that the pre-germination treatments had profound effects on the phenology of Garcinia kola seeds germination. Multiple shoots, multiple roots and callus formation were induced from seeds soaked in benzylaminopurin, naphthaleneacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid solutions, respectively. Analysis of variance showed a significant (p < 0.01) effect of seed collection on the germination velocity, indicating the variability in seed dormancy among collections. Although the rate of germination was higher in seeds treated with NAA, none of the seed treatments significantly enhanced germination when compared with the control.