Enhancing germinability of Veralu (Elaeocarpus serratus L.) by seed pre-treatments and germination variability of different accessions

Veralu (Elaeocarpus serratus L.) known as Ceylon Olive is one of the valuable and potential fruits. In year 2011 four superior varieties were recommended for cultivation. The major constraint in expansion of cultivation is poor degree of seed germinability and long time period taken for germination. With the objectives of increasing efficiency of germination and studying the variation in germinability a series of experiments were conducted at the Fruit Research and Development Institute, Horana during 2018-2019. None of the hot and cold temperature scarification treatments evaluated was effective. Both cracked seeds and seeds without endocarp inhibited germination, suggesting that the non-existence of seed coat imposed dormancy. However, seeds packed in sealed black colour polythene (300 gauge) and kept them for 15 days, stimulated germination giving 50% success after 115 ± 6 days. Similarly, seeds embedded in sand substrate with 1% moisture content in sealed opaque polythene bag (150 gauge) enclosed in another black color bag (300 gauge) and sun dried for 8 hrs regularly, promoted germination showing a success rate of 58% by 80 days of sun drying. When germination behavior of two different seed weight categories concerned, small seeds (0.5 – 1.0 g mean/seed) germinated faster achieving 50% success rate by 68 ± 2 days. Whereas, for large seeds (1.0 – 1.5 g mean/seed) number of days taken for 50% germination was 110 ± 10 days. One of the promising outcomes reveal from the current study was identification of two accessions having short dormancy periods of 52 days and 75 days in ACC 2 and ACC 5 respectively. Thus, these accessions are recommended for overcoming seed dormancy of Elaeocarpus serratus and thereby enhancing the planting material production profitably.