Influence of pH of Seed Soaking Water and Cow Dung–Urine Mixtures on Seed Germination and Early Seedling Growth of Indian Sandalwood (<i>Santalum album</i> L.)

Sandeep Chakraborty; B.S. Chandrashekar; L. Manjunatha; C.M. Arunkumar; N. Ravi; Ayushman Malakar; Animesh Sinha

doi:10.36808/if/2025/v151i12/170952

Influence of pH of Seed Soaking Water and Cow Dung–Urine Mixtures on Seed Germination and Early Seedling Growth of Indian Sandalwood (Santalum album L.)

Authors

Sandeep Chakraborty ICFRE- Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru, Karanataka
B.S. Chandrashekar ICFRE- Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru, Karanataka
L. Manjunatha ICFRE- Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru, Karanataka
C.M. Arunkumar ICFRE- Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru, Karanataka
N. Ravi ICFRE- Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru, Karanataka
Ayushman Malakar ICFRE- Institute of Forest Productivity, Lalgutwa, Ranchi, Jharkhand
Animesh Sinha ICFRE- Institute of Forest Productivity, Lalgutwa, Ranchi, Jharkhand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2025/v151i12/170952

Keywords:

Sandalwood, Seedling, pH, Cow dung, Cow urine, Germination, Santalum album

Abstract

Two parallel experiments were conducted at the Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bengaluru, India, to evaluate the effects of different pretreatments on sandalwood (Santalum album) seed germination and seedling growth in neutral media. The first experiment assessed the impact of varying pH levels, while the second focused on conventional treatments using cow dung and cow urine in different concentrations. Among all treatments, the application of GA₃ (Gibberellic Acid) at 500 ppm (99% purity) demonstrated the highest germination percentage (78–80%) considered as the standard. In the pH-based experiment, treatment T4 (pH 4.32) showed notable germination (62%), Mean Daily Germination (0.81), Peak Value of Germination (0.40), and Seedling Vigour Index (682.6). Acidic conditions (pH 3.64–5.67) were more favourable for germination, while alkaline conditions (pH 7.05–9.59) negatively impacted germination, likely due to ion imbalance and metabolic disruption. However, in large prospective the subsequent vegetative growth data in neutral media (root +shoot length) obtained after bio-waste experiment (using Cow Dung & Cow Urine) was similar to pH experiment (except category 1). In the conventional experiment (cow dung and cow urine), the CT4 (30:70 :: Cow Dung: Cow Urine) and BT4 (30:70::Cow Dung: Water) treatments yielded the highest germination (36%) after GA₃. The treatment CT4 also showed a high Seedling Vigour Index (392). Treatments with high concentration of cow urine indicated poor germination, potentially due to elevated pH and presence of abscisic acid. On the basis of this study, it can be stated that using hard or saline water (strong alkaline) as a soaking macedium before sowing may not be an economically viable pretreatment option for sandalwood seeds.

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