The Effect of Ripeness Stage of Fruits and Hormonal Priming on Seed Germination of Cherry Tree (Muntingia calabura).

Seed priming technique has been known to improve germination and seedling emergence under different environment stresses. The objective of this research was to determine the seed viability and physical properties of seeds of Muntingia calabura, to study the effects of ripeness stages (Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and Stage 4) of M.calabura on the seed germination characteristics and to evaluate the effectiveness of seed priming in improving the seed germination of Munlingia calabura in response to three concentrations of the hormonal priming solution, Gibberellic acid, GA₃; (50 ppm,100 ppm and 150 ppm), salicylic acid, SA (50 ppm, 100 ppm and 150 ppm) and Cytokinin, CK (50 ppm, 100 ppm and 150 ppm). This experiment was carried out as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomised design with three replications. The results showed that seed germination, germination percentage and germination speed were significantly increased (P < 0.01) by increasing the hormonal priming solution up to 150 ppm of the seeds. Seed priming enhance germination percentage and germination speed. Overall, the results of this research showed that the response of this species to hormone treatment of seeds was positive. Therefore, hormonal priming treatment of seeds before planting can significantly reduce the negative effect from biotic and abiotic factor during germination stage and will contribute to plant establishment by increasing the germination speed and growth of embryos.