Recent Research Advances in Biology Vol. 5
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Date
2021-02-20
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Book Publisher International
Abstract
A study was conducted in Dalbergia melanoxylon (African Blackwood) comparing the ability to form
seedling between seed germination in the soil, germination in the Murashge and Skoog medium (MS)
and rooting of the cuttings to form a seedling. An overharvested species D. melanoxylon have a highly
valued wood but not propagated. This is why in recent years there have been some efforts to conduct
investigations that can improve seedling production. About 2 kilograms of seeds were purchased
from TTSA and cuttings (root, softwood, and hardwood stem cutting) were collected from the forest for
an experiment in 2010 at the Botany Department University of Dar es Salaam. Three treatments were
employed for soil germination (Low, Medium, and High moisture level) while two treatments were
employed for MS germination (Half strength and Full strength). Sterilizing reagents were 35%, 70%
alcohol and 2.6% sodium hypochlorite. The sterilizing duration was 10, 20, and 30 minutes. Softwood,
semi-hardwood, hardwood, and root cuttings were introduced in a non-mist propagator using soil
inoculated with mycorrhizae. Data recorded include germination percentage, moisture level, MS
concentration, sterilizing reagent concentrations and time used to sterilize the seeds, temperature, and
humidity in the propagator and sprouting percentage of cuttings. Standard procedures were used to
analyze and compare germination and rooting data as described by Zar, [1]. The highest germination in
the soil was 21% while that of the MS was 19.8%, rooting was 100% in softwood cuttings and 37% in
root cutting while semi-hardwood and hardwood cutting didn’t root at all. The two germination
mediums (soil and MS) did not differ significantly while using cuttings implies harvesting of the existing
forests which is not recommended. More investigations especially genetic transformation of the
species for easy access in tissue culture are needed to improve seedling production of D. melanoxylon
for the propagation of the species.
Description
An overharvested species D. melanoxylon has a highly
valued wood but not propagated.
Keywords
Dalbergia melanoxylon; african blackwood; cuttings; rooting; murashige and skoog; germination; moisture level and non-mist propagator.
Citation
DOI: 10.9734/bpi/rrab/v5/1603C