Out of the many Cassia Fistula seeds (Golden Shower Tree) that I have planted, one has finally germinated!! (Well, actually two have germinated already.)
The seed has a very tough coating. And some literature that I have read on the net would actually have me scarify the seed.
The best way to germinate the seeds is to soak them in concentrated sulfuric acid... which is actually hard to get in our humane society. Unless you have contacts with industrial laboratories, you wouldn't get the chemical in our part of the country. So I substituted with another acid... which I wouldn't tell in this post (The secret stays with me... bwahahaha).
Next, I submerged the seed into some proteolytic enzyme for about 5 minutes, which was actually not found in literature but the crazy idea just crossed my mind. I would not tell the molecule too. Then I soaked it up in water.
I also nicked the seeds till some inside part of the seed was seen at the surface. I planted the seeds in soil-less medium using Enrico and prayed to God to make the seeds grow. Since soil-less medium is almost devoid of bacteria (I hope), I was not a bit worried about getting seed infection.
When I came home one evening, I saw this baby germinating. I think it's some sort of epigeal germination since the cotyledons sprouted up with the stem.
Well, direct sowing is practiced in my country. But then, it takes a long time for the seed to germinate. I'll update you when I transfer this plant to a pot. I hope this plant grows up to be a tree.
-
0 comments
Post a Comment