Teak (Tectona grandis) Germination During Storage: Effect of Seed Fungicides and Imbibition Times.

Teak (Tectona grandis) fruits are of economic importance since they are commercialized as seed. However, it is still unclear if fruit size is related to seed quality and how storage can affect this trait. The objectives of this experiment were to determine the effect of imbibition time and seed treatments on seed germination during storage. Large and small teak fruits lots were collected from a commercial plantation in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The first experiment consisted in treating seeds lots either with Vitavax 40 WP or Butrol, and placed in cold storage to evaluate germination during this period. The second part of the experiments consisted in evaluating germination of fruits kept under cold storage after different imbibition times. For both experiments, fruit samples were taken every two months over the course of a year. After six months, seeds treated with Vitavax showed the highest germination.   In the imbibition experiment, the highest germination was observed on the control seed lot (0 h) after two months of storage (80,5 %) and the lowest germination percentage was also observed in control seeds after eight months of storage (60,5 %). In both experiments, fruit size influenced germination, with larger fruits having greater germination than small fruits.