EFFECT OF THE BOTANICAL PELLETINGS AND STORAGE PERIODS ON THE GERMINATION OF AFRICAN STAR APPLE (CHRYSOPHYLLUM ALBIDUM G. DON) SEEDS

There is paucity of quantified information on the simple, safe and affordable methods of invigorating seeds and storage of recalcitrant seeds. In this light, investigation was conducted in the screen house of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Kaduna on the effect of the botanical pelletings and storage periods of C. albidum seeds. A seed pellet is a coating, usually of clay mixed with other inerts, which streamlines the size, shape, and uniformity of a small, non-round seed. A split-plot experimental design with four (4) replications was laid down to assess the effect of botanical pelletings with the leaves of six agro-forestry tree species (Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephala, Albizia lebbeck, Acacia auriculiformis, Parkia biglobosa and Dacryodus edulis) and storage periods (0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks) on the germination of C. albidum seeds stored in the refrigerator. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA)using SAS (2003)software. The percentage germination of seeds pelletized with G. sepium, L leucocephala, A. lebbeck, A. auriculiformis, P. biglobosa and D. edulis ranged between 18.50%-42.00%, 8.3%-13.60%, 5.2%-18.80%, 3.6% -16.30%, 5.0%-14.30%, and 2.5%-11.10%, for 2-8 weeks respectively. The percentage germination of seeds stored for 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks ranged between 8.50%-21%, 4.70%-24.58%, 9.42%-22.75%, 8.67%-19.58% and 3.33%-8.83% respectively. The percentage germination of seeds pelletized with the leaves of G. sepium, L. leucocephala, A. lebbeck, A. auriculiformis, P. biglobosa and D. edulis and stored for storage periods ranged between 1-65%, 0-30%, 0-30.5%, 1-25%, 0-20% and 0-30%. Botanical pelletings and storage periods significantly (P<0.05) enhanced the germination of C. albidum seeds. Highest germination percentage of 65% was recorded for seeds pelletized with G. sepium leaves and stored for 3 weeks. The research therefore recommends seed pelleting with G. sepium leaves and storage for 3 weeks for mass production of C. albidum seedlings for agro-forestry systems.

AAC Comfort field pea

AAC Comfort is a high-yielding, semi-leafless, green cotyledon field pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivar developed at the Lacombe Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in Lacombe, AB. It is adapted to all field pea growing regions in western Canada. AAC Comfort has late maturity, medium lodging resistance, medium seed size, round seed shape, and good bleach resistance and green colour intensity. It is resistant to powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe pisi DC., moderately susceptible to mycosphaerella blight caused by Mycosphaerella pinodes (Berk. & Blox.) Vestergr., and susceptible to fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. pisi (Linford) Snyd. & Hans.

Making Black Bloody Rosella Jam

The rosella (or roselle) plant originated in West Africa, but has been cultivated throughout Africa, Asia and Australia. Not only can rosella be used to make teas and jams, but every part of the plant is edible; the young leaves can be eaten raw and make great salads. Rosella is a type of hibiscus, and it has a beautiful pink flower. Although the whole plant is edible, it is the calyx (the bright red fruit) that is used to make syrups, teas or jams. If you eat it fresh, straight off the stalk, it has a sour taste. Inside the calyx is a round seed pod. If it is left to mature, it will turn brown. When dry it provides the mature seeds for the next planting. At Kebun Setaman Pejeng, our small-scale community arm and learning centre at Bamjar Panglan, Pejeng, on the island of Bali, we harvest rosella to make jam.

Larger chimpanzee-dispersed seeds are elongated at Mahale, Tanzania: possible consequence of plant–disperser interaction?

Apes are important long-distance dispersers of large seeds in African tropical forests. Seed size and shape are likely to affect the ease of swallowing for an animal species. If an endozoochorous seed is larger than the digestive tract of an animal, the seed cannot be swallowed, and a round seed is more difficult to swallow than an elongated seed of the same length. In order to test if such a correlation exists between the seed size and its shape, we investigated the length and width of chimpanzee-dispersed seeds at the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Among the 14 species of seeds, longer seeds had significantly narrower relative widths, and thus, they were more ovoid. Since the chimpanzee is the largest arboreal frugivore at Mahale, their food selection might have influenced the shape of larger seeds. The chimpanzee's selective consumption of such fruits with longer, elongated seeds may have facilitated the selective dispersal of such plant species in that area.

New species of Peltaspermopsis Gomankov from the Permian of the Subangara area

Impressions of the peltaspemous female fructifications from the Novy Kuvak locality (the Kazanian of the Samara Region, Russia) are described as Peltaspermopsis nebritovii sp. nov. They represent racemose fertile shoots about 7 cm in length and 3 cm in width bearing peltate simple polysperms (peltoids). Peltoids are radially symmetrical, 10—15 mm in diameter and bear about 20 radial grooves at their upper surfaces. The margin of the seed-bearing disc is lobed and turned down to the adaxial side. About 20 relatively small and round seed scars are located at the lower surface of the seed-bearing disc around the stalk, by which it is attached to the main axis of the fructification. The length of the stalk is 5 to 10 mm. The main difference of the described fructifications from the other species of Peltaspermopsis consists in their racemose organization broading by that the diagnosis of the genus. The new species is compared with many racemose peltaspermous fructifications described previously from the Permian of the Russian Platform and the Pechora Basin, none of which has nevertheless been assigned to Peltaspermopsis. It is likely that the plants with such fructifications produced sterile foliage assignable to Compsopteris.

Mendel field pea

Mendel, a semi-leafless and powdery mildew resistant field pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivar with green cotyledons, has high seed yielding ability, good lodging resistance, round seed shape and medium seed size. It has good seed bleaching resistance and high green color intensity. The cultivar is adapted to field pea growing regions in western Canada. Key words: Field pea, Pisum sativum, cultivar description

Hugo field pea

Hugo is a high-yielding field pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivar with yellow cotyledons. It has a semi-leafless leaf type, and is powdery mildew resistant. It has round seed shape, medium seed size and high seed coat integrity. The cultivar is adapted to field pea growing regions in western Canada. Key words: Field pea, Pisum sativum, cultivar description