Storage and germination treatments for seeds of an ornamentally important palm, Livistona rotundifolia (Lam.) Mart

Abstract

Livistona rotundifolia (Lam.) Mart. is an ornamentally important plant in Sri Lanka with a high demand for both cut foliage and pot plant production for the foreign market. Propagation through seeds, poor germination and the storage of seeds are the main constraints in L. rotundifolia cultivation. During the current study, seed germination and storage behaviour of L. rotundifolia have been investigated to identify the causes for its poor germination and poor storability. The moisture content of seeds was determined using the oven-dry method. Germination of the seeds was studied under light/dark and dark conditions and the embryo: seed ratio was determined in fresh seeds and in seeds soon after the radicle emergence. The effect of storage at eight different storage conditions was evaluated. The seeds had a moisture content of 36.8% suggesting that they are recalcitrant. Recalcitrancy of seeds is further supported where none of the seeds germinated when they were stored at -2 °C. Freshly collected seeds germinated only in dark conditions (58%). Even in dark conditions, the seeds took 2 months to complete germination. Although seeds had a low embryo: seed ratio, it remained unchanged during germination. Thus, the dormancy of seeds can be categorized as the non-deep physiological dormancy. This is the first record of a species producing seeds with no morphological dormancy in Arecaceae. The seeds stored in polythene bags with coir dust at 4-8 °C showed the highest survival (97%) and thus, this treatment can be recommended to store L. rotundifolia seeds for a minimum of 5 months.