Seed soaking treatments differently effect seed germination and seedling phenology for different populations of Vitex doniana Sweet

Vitex doniana is one of the highly demanded traditional vegetables in West Africa, yet supply is still too low to meet demand. Among the reasons for the low supply is the constraint related to the propagation of the species. Sexual propagation of this species is limited by seed dormancy which hinders cultivation. To achieve homogeneous germination and produce seedlings for horticultural production, two soaking techniques were applied on freshly harvested and three-month-stored seeds collected from eight populations in three climatic zones in Benin. Seed viability differed significantly between seed populations. Seeds stored for three months at ambient room conditions (25 degrees C) followed by wet-dry cycling twice daily for 14 days achieved 96.7% germination within 12 days after sowing. This finding represents a remarkable improvement in seedling production for V. doniana over the past 10 years. This study is one step further toward the domestication of V. doniana.