Mindi Seed Quality Varies Across West Java Community Forests, with Sumedang the Best

Image: article cover, from Yulianti et al. (2016), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

A research team from the Forest Tree Seed Technology Research and Development Centre in Bogor and the Department of Silviculture at the Faculty of Forestry, IPB, has studied the seed quality of mindi (Melia azedarach L.) from six community forest sites in West Java. Published in Jurnal Wasian in 2016, the study found that the viability and vigour of mindi seeds differ between seed sources. The findings matter because quality seed is a prerequisite for developing mindi in community forests.

Of the six seed sources tested, seeds from Sumedang showed the highest germination rate, at 60 per cent. The average germination rate across all seed sources was only 40 per cent. The highest germination speed was also recorded for Sumedang seeds, at 6.543 per cent per etmal, while seeds from Gambung were the lowest, at 1.400 per cent per etmal. The study also identified the most effective way to break mindi seed dormancy: soaking the seeds in concentrated sulphuric acid (H2SO4) for 30 to 45 minutes. The first germination count was made on day 16 and the final count on day 31.

For community forest farmers, these findings show that seed origin needs to be taken into account when planting mindi. Choosing seed from the right source can improve the chances of successful germination. In addition, sulphuric acid soaking can help speed up the germination of seeds with hard seed coats.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article The Variability of Seed Viability and Seed Vigour of Mindi (Melia azedarachlinn.) from Several Populations in The Community Forest of West Java by Yulianti Bramasto Yulianti, Nurheni Wijayanto Nurheni, Iskandar Z Siregar Iskandar and I.G.K. Tapa Darma Darma, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 3 No. 2 (2016). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Yulianti, Y. B., Nurheni, N. W., Iskandar, I. Z. S., & Darma, I. T. D. (2016). The Variability of Seed Viability and Seed Vigour of Mindi (Melia azedarachlinn.) from Several Populations in The Community Forest of West Java. Jurnal Wasian, 3(2), 69–78. https://doi.org/10.62142/sfztgn12

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.