PRE-NURSERY RESPONSE OF KING PALM (Archontophoenix alexandrae) SEEDS AS INFLUENCED BY SEED POPULATION UNDER SOILLESS MIST PROPAGATION

King Palm (KP), Archontophoenix alexandrae is mainly propagated by seeds and it thrives well in a moist and tropical climate. Its germination varies from a few weeks to several months. This study was conducted to determine the germination response of KP seeds of varying quantities under a soilless condition at the pre-nursery stage with the aim of improving germination and reducing the days to germination of KP seeds. Varying quantities of KP seeds (50, 100, 150 and 200) were put in a transparent plastic mist propagation chamber of same size with measurement 16cm length x 10cm breadth x 8cm depth, of 1 litre capacity by volume, in three replicates. Distilled water (10ml) was added every two (2) weeks to each propagation chamber throughout the course of the study. Seeds in the transparent plastic mist propagation chamber were exposed to a photoperiod of 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. Results showed variation in the mean number of germinated seeds across the weeks in the course of the study, with about 69% at 6WAS (Weeks After Setup) 45 days, 79% at 8WAS, (61 days) and highest germination percentage of 83-84% occurring from 10-12WAS.Significantly higher seed germination (110.67) was observed in 200 KP seeds/volume germination chamber having more germinated seeds relative to 150, 100 and 50 KP seeds at 6WAS. At 8WAS, highly significant difference in the percentage of germinated seeds was also observed in 200 KP (65.33), relative to 150 KP (68.67) and 100 KP (62.67) with 50 KP seeds (44.67) per volume of germination chamber. This indicated that either 200 KP and 150 KP seeds/volume of germination chamber will be suitable to aid in faster pre-germination of KP seeds within 10 weeks. Significantly longer root length (RL) was observed among 100 KP seeds (9.92) compared with 200 and 150 KP seeds (8.07 and 9.17 respectively) likely due to slightly more room for improved root development. Longest SHL was observed amongst the 100 KP seeds compared with 200 and 150 KP seeds (no significant difference between the SHL of these), and 50 KP seeds at 8WAS.