Effect of IBA pre-soaking in the regain of lost viability in the seeds of myristica malabarica, lam.

Seed recalcitrance is a major problem with tropical tree species limiting their natural regeneration and a constraint for their long term storage. The seeds are sensitive to desiccation and lose their viability very quickly. They do not have any molecular mechanism to tolerate dehydration such as metabolic ‘switch off’ and intracellular differentiation as orthodox seeds do (Berjak and Pammenter, 2013). Myristica malabarica is an indigenous arborescent species occurring in Western Ghats and has been red listed by IUCN. The major threats to this species are over exploitation of seeds for medicinal uses, conversion of its native swamp forests to agricultural land and the recalcitrance nature of seeds. The seeds are extremely sensitive to dehydration and lose viability in one month. In the present study, we report for the first time that the exogenous application of IBA for a period 24hrs. to the Myristica malabarica seeds desiccated for one month showed a reversal of their lost viability and cent percent germination could be achieved after eighteenth day of sowing. The results indicate that ABA/GA hormonal balance plays an important role in the germination of recalcitrant seeds and the exogenous application of IBA may disrupt this hormonal balance and regain the lost viability (Pieruzzi et al., 2011).