Tamarind monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future

esult in natural regeneration if conditions are favourable. Germinated
seedlings often survive under the parent trees where they become established
if protected from grazing animals. Seeds transported by birds and other
wildlife germinate readily under the shade of another tree, such as baobab
and on termite mounds. In South India, monkeys are the major seed
dispersing agent (Troup, 1921). See section 4.4.
Seed collection for propagation purposes involves selection of vigorous,
disease-free mother trees of superior phenotypes from forests, pastures or
farms. Seed viability and storage life are greatest if seeds are collected when
mature. Fruits are collected only when they are fresh and ripe as indicated by
a buff, brittle epicarp. Pods are shaken from the tree or if reachable fruit
pedicels are clipped (Morton 1987).
The pods should either be dried in the sun and the seeds removed from the
pulp by hand-kneading, or by soaking in water for several hours, which
makes it easier to remove the seeds by rubbing the pulp though a screen.
Washed seeds are then dried in the shade and stored in well-ventilated gunny
bags, or paper bags, in a cool place.
A seed bed should be prepared for germinating the seed. Chattopadhyay and
Mohanta (1988) reported that seed germination could be encouraged by
using cow dung or cow dung and sand in the propagation medium. However,
a normal nursery potting mixture containing three parts of top soil, one part
of sand and one part of compost, can be successfully used for germinating
tamarind seed.
Seeds may be germinated in nursery beds, seed boxes, pots or plastic bags.
When grown in nursery beds, the recommended spacing is 20-25 cm both
ways. The best germination results if the seeds are covered by 1.5 cm of
loose sandy loam or a mixture of loam and sand. If the seeds are planted too
deep seedling emergence is delayed and there may be some rotting due to
poor aeration. Sowing seeds in an upright position with the micropylar end
positioned upwards significantly improved germination and seedling vigour
(Parameswari et al., 2001 e). Seeds may be sown in polyethylene nursery
bags provided the bags are deep enough to accommodate the tap root
without causing undue distortion. Bag raised seedlings should be planted
before they get root bound.
Adequate moisture is needed to ensure germination and seedling
establishment is as uniform as possible.
Trials were carried out at the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding,
Coimbatore, India, to study the effect of ten different potting media and
eight bio-fertiliser combinations on tamarind quality seedling production.
Potting media in the ratios of i) Sand: spent mushroom beds (2:1), ii) Sand:
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