Planting from vegetative material - cgiar

Legumes are simpler because most seeds are 'naked' and
what looks like seed, actually is seed. Also, there are
usually fewer immature seeds and these are smaller, visibly
shrivelled and easily cleaned by sieving.
What germination percentage can we expect?
No forage seed will give 100% germination. You can
expect 20-40% germination from clean grass seed and
40-80% germination from clean legume seed. Lower
germination percentages than these could be the result of:
1. Dormancy in grasses.
2. Hard-seededness in legumes.
3. Poor storage conditions
1.Dormancy in grasses
Recently harvested seed of some grasses will not
germinate immediately. This is called "dormancy"and will
break down naturally by storing the seed for 3-6 months.
There is no simple way to test grass seed for dormancy
and it cannot be easily treated. In most cases dormancy
is not a problem because seed harvested one year is not
sown until the following year. Grasses that can have a
strong dormancy are Brachiaria brizantha, B. decumbens
and B. humidicola. One legume that can have a strong
dormancy is Arachis pintoi.
Winnowing grass seed to leave only
mature, clean seed. [WS]
Panicum maximum
'Si Muang'
Centrosema pubescens
'Barinas'
Legumes tend have a higher germination
percentage than grasses. [WS]
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