Nutripriming of Seeds with Manganese Sulphate for Better Germination and Seedling Vigour in the East Indian Sandalwood ( Santalum album L.)

Poor and staggered seeds germination is the major hurdle in plantation establishment of sandalwood ( Santalum album L) which is one among the esteemed timber species of the world. Nutrient priming is an innovative approach that combines the positive effects of seed priming and improved nutrient supply thereby helping in mass production of quality seedlings. In the present investigation, the effect of nutripriming using MnSO 4 on germination and seedling growth of the sandal was studied. The experiment was conducted in two factorial CRD with concentration of MnSO 4 (0.4M, 0.6M, 0.8 M and 1 M) and duration of treatment (3, 6, 9 and 12 days) as factors. Results indicated that seeds subjected to nutripriming at 0.8 M for 3 days recorded the highest germination (88.0%) followed by those soaked at 0.4 (86.7%), 0.6 (86.7%) and 1.0 M (86.0%) concentrations respectively. The nutri-primed seeds incubated for more than 3 days recorded a germination < 10%. Multivariate analysis indicated that the seedling growth and biomass production were also higher at 0.8 M concentration for 3 days followed by 0.4 M for 6 days. Hence, we recommend nutripriming at 0.8 M for 3 days and 0.4 M for 6 days for superior planting stock production of sandal.