PENGARUH LAMA PERENDAMAN DAN SUHU AWAL TERHADAP PERKECAMBAHAN BENIH BALSA (Ochroma pyramidale)

Abstract

Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale) is a wood originating from Central America and South America. Balsa is a fast-growing tree, within 5-6 years it can reach a height of 20 m with a diameter of 40 cm. Balsa seeds have a hard surface so balsa is a dormant seed. Efforts to overcome dormancy can be done employing scarification, both mechanical scarification such as soaking the seeds in hot water until the water cools down, chemically by immersing them in a strong acid solution, or injuring the surface of the seed coat
by sanding, filing or scratching. This study aims to determine the effect of soaking time and different temperatures on the germination of balsa seeds (Ochroma pyramidale). This research was conducted from June to September 2022 and took place at the BPDASHL Palu-Poso Permanent Nursery, Central Sulawesi Province. This study used a completely randomized design (CRD) factorial pattern, which consisted of 2 factors. The first factor is the Initial Temperature which consists of S1 = 70°C, S2 = 100°C and the second factor is the immersion time (L) which consists of L0 = Without immersion (control), L1 = 12 hours, L2 = 24 hours, and L3 = 36 hours. The results showed that the most optimal long soaking treatment was the L1 treatment, namely soaking for 12 hours with an average germination day of 4.73 days, a germination percentage of 96%, and a sprout height of 7.16 cm. The best initial temperature treatment was S1 treatment, which was 70ºC with an average germination day of 5.15 days and a sprout height of 6.24 cm. The best treatment interaction was the treatment time and initial temperature of SIL1 which was 12 hours with an initial temperature of 70ºC with an average height of 7.26 cm sprouts.