DORMANCY AND GERMINATION OF MUCUNA URENS

Abstract

The seeds of Mucuna urens (L) have two sizes designated as small (SS) and large (LS) which occur in the ratio of 3: 1. Both sizes of seeds are dormant. These dormant seeds were successfully germinated after various methods had been used to terminate the seed coat dormancy. The most successful method was scarification with concentrated H₂SO4 for one hour, which gave 90% germination. Heat treatment and seed coat removal also helped to break the dormancy of these seeds. It was observed that at 83^oC days to germination in M. urens increased with time while percentage germination decreased with time.