Sequential advancement in germination of commercially important lesser-known tree species, Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Mull. Arg.

The present trial was undertaken to enhance the germination of a commercially important lesser-known tree species, Mallotus philippensis under nursery condition at College of Forestry, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India during 2025. The experiment comprised of 7 media treatments viz. soil, sand, cocopeat, vermiculite, soil + sand (1:1), soil + sand (2:1) and soil + sand (1:2) filled in perforated trays and arranged in completely randomized design with three repetitions. Seeds pre-treated by soaking in water for 12 hr followed by GA₃ (50 ppm) for 60 min were sown and the germination parameters were recorded up to 30 days after sowing. The media treatments significantly influenced the germination attributes in M. philippensis at 30 days after sowing. Sand medium recorded the maximum germination (75.00 %), mean daily germination (2.50), higher germination rate index (55.15) and germination value (8.39) while soil + sand (1:2) exhibited the highest peak value (3.62) and took the minimum mean germination time (14.63 days) to germinate. In the trial, sand emerged as the best germination medium demonstrating a strong potential for production of large-scale and quality seedlings of M. philippensis. Further, the seed germination of M. philippensis enhanced sequentially from 30.67 % to 75.00 % as evident from the present trial.