Viability of kithul (Caryota urens L.) seeds with storage time

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Research Paper 01/12/2021
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Viability of kithul (Caryota urens L.) seeds with storage time

Abdul Latheef Mohammed Zuhry, Athambawa Mohamed Razmy
Int. J. Agron. Agri. Res.19( 6), 6-10, December 2021.
Certificate: IJAAR 2021 [Generate Certificate]

Abstract

There is a myth among the farmers that Kithul seeds, only dropped by birds and small mammals with their excretion, germinate. The main reason for this myth is the inherent difficulty of germination in Kithul seeds with storage time. Many experiments proved a high percentage of seed germination when the seeds are sowed soon after separating from fresh fruits. In this study, an attempt is made to model the viability of the seeds with the storage time of the seeds. Two types of Kithul seeds were collected and stored for different periods and tested for germination. The findings revealed that there is no dormant period for Kithul seeds and viability continuously decreases with time according to a model fitted for the probit of the germination probability. This fitted model contains the constants: the probit of the initial probability of germination and , a specific constant for Kithul found as 2.90. Although this equation provided a better fit, the terms for the environmental temperature and seed moisture content are to be introduced for further improvement.

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