SEEDLING EMERGENCE AND PERFORMANCE OF TEN ACCESSIONS OF DALIUM GUINEENSE IN DIFFERENT GROWTH MEDIA

Abstract

The black velvet tamarind, which is of the family Fabaceace is a minor fruit crop whose pulpy fruit is deeply rich in tartaric acid that is a strong anti-oxidant against free radicals in the human body as well as a number of vital vitamins and minerals. The fruit is also rich in a couple of volatile pytho-chemicals, hence has strong medicinal values while its wood is a veritable source of charcoal.  A study was initiated to generate information on seedling emergence and growth of ten accessions of velvet tamarind collected from different locations in southeast Nigeria with the aim of determining the effect of different growth media on seedling emergence and growth in velvet tamarind. The accessions were sown in growth media containing different ratios of sawdust, poultry manure and top soil (1:2:3, 2:3:1, 3:2:1 and 3:1:2). The studies revealed that the seedlings of velvet tamarind responded significantly (P<0.05) to the different growth media compositions evaluated with combination ratio of 3:1:2 exhibiting the best response while 2:3:1 had the least response. Among the velvet tamarind accessions studied, accession one (1) closely followed by accession ten (10) which had the highest seedling emergence, while accession four (4) had the lowest seedling emergence as well as low growth. The results have shown that media compositions, especially sawdust, poultry manure and top soil in the ratio of 3:1:2 have strong influence on seedling emergence and growth of velvet tamarind accessions.