Abstract

In forestry, availability of healthy seeds is an important factor for raising planting stock on a large-scale. Germinability depends greatly upon seed health, which generally refers to the presence or absence of disease causing micro-organisms. In the present study, seeds of Albizia odoratissima, Lagerstroemia microcarpa, Pterocarpus marsupium and Xylia xylocarpa were distinguished into different categories by dry seed examination. Spermoplane microflora was estimated using standard blotter method utilizing both surface sterilised and non-surface sterilised seeds. The results indicated that at present the main problem faced by forestry seeds is the high incidence of saprophytic fungi. In pathogenicity trials, a large number of microorganisms hitherto known to be saprophytes have shown their pathogenic behaviour to seeds of some of the indigenous tree crops