NEHA SAINI*, NARESH KAUSHIK AND KAJAL
Department of Forestry
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : neha9516 0@gmail.com)
(Received : 7 June 2023; Accepted : 24 September 2023)
SUMMARY
Prosopis cineraria, commonly known as the Khejri or Ghaf tree is a drought-tolerant species in arid regions of Asia. P. cineraia is valued for its forage potential, particularly with limited options. This abstracts provides an overview of pre-germination treatments techniques that enhance germination rates and forage potential under nursery condition. The study was conducted by taking four sources of seed collection i.e. two from Haryana (Hisar and Bhiwani) and two from Rajasthan (Churu and Hanumangarh) with two types of pre-treatments; (1) mechanical scarification with scarifier (1, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 minutes) and (2) chemical scarification with hot water (20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 minutes), sulphuric and hydrochloric acid for 5,15,20,25 and 30 minutes duration. Results showed that the maximum seedlings were germinated on 3rd day of sowing and minimum on 7th days of sowing. Highest value of speed of germination, seedling establishment, growth and biomass were recorded in seedlings treated with scarifier for 1.5 minute followed by H2SO4 for 15 minutes and hot water for 30 minutes.
Key words: Prosopis cineraria, pre-germination, nursery, seedling establishment, forage