Ecological studies on Macroptilium atropurpureum Urb. in Rwenzori National Park, Uganda. I. Effects of pre-treating seeds with concentrated sulphuric acid, scarification, boiling and burning on germination

Summary Effects on germination of pre-treatment of seeds of Macroptilium atropurpureum Urb. with concentrated sulphuric acid, mechanical scarification, boiling water and burning were studied in the laboratory. Physical and chemical removal of the testa yielded high percentage germination. Germination was best achieved by the application of H2SO4 (90.2%) followed by mechanical scarification (63.4), boiling water (58.6), burning (48.6), and least in the control (17.7). The low germination in seeds without pre-treatment was attributed largely to the hard seed coat of the legume. Resume Les effets de pre-traitement de graines de Macroptilium atropurpureum Urb. avec de l'acide sulfurique, la scarification mecanique, l'eau bouillante et le brulage sur la germination furent etudies en laboratoire. La suppression physique et chimique de l'enveloppe entraine un pourcentage eleve de germination. Celle-ci fut realisee avec le plus de succes par l'application de H2SO4 (90.2%), la scarification mecanique (63.4%), l'eau bouillante (58.6%), le brulage (48.6%) et enfin le controle (17.7%). La faible germination des graines sans pretraitement est attribuee largement a la durete de l'enveloppe de la graine de cette legumineuse.