1Ajiboye A.A*, and 2Agboola D.A
Selected leguminous tree seeds of Tamarindus indica (L) ,Parkia biglobossa (Jacq) R . Br . Don , Prosopis africana (Guill) Perr & Taub )and Albizia lebbeck (Linn) Benth play prominent roles in nutrient recycling of soils in both savanna and tropics of Nigeria. These trees are recklessly felled without a corresponding afforestation programme. Therefore, the danger of being extinct is imminent. However the seeds of these trees were found to be dormant. The viability test used was floating methods. Efforts to alleviate their dormancy led to the usage of some dormancy-breaking methods which involve chemical scarification of concentrated sulphuric acid at 5min,10min and 15min.The viability test of the seeds showed 90-100%.Initial germination trials gave 0-20% in all the seeds.About 80-100% germination was observed when treated with concentrated sulphuric acid under 5mins duration within 10days.At 10min duration the treatment was 100% in A.lebbeck while maximum percentage germination were obtained in A. lebbeck (100%) and P. biglobossa (60%) at 15min duration. The highest vitamin D content was found in P.africana. This work will assist in the propagation of these valuable leguminous seeds; and reveal the potentials of these tree seeds for commercial and domestic purposes
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