Levée de la dormance physique des semences d'espèces forestières soudano-sahéliennes - Guide pratique

This guide is intended for nursery owners, seedling producers, forestry technicians, researchers and teachers in ecology and forest resource conservation, and stakeholders involved in reforestation projects/programs. It presents research results on the germination of several local and exotic forest species conducted by the National Forest Seed Center (CNSF) since its inception. It provides in-depth knowledge on seed treatment techniques to be applied to improve germination and optimize seedling production for reforestation programs.
The guide is structured in three main parts. The first two present a brief literature review on seed technology, including the different seed categories, factors influencing seed germination, the various stages of the germination process, types of seed dormancy, and methods for breaking physical dormancy. The third part of the document provides an illustrated description of the main techniques for breaking physical dormancy developed by the CNSF, with an emphasis on the scientific methodology adopted for determining these pretreatments. The recommended pretreatments for breaking the physical dormancy of seeds of 50 forest species are presented in the form of information sheets for each species. For each species, the sheet includes a brief description, its main uses, and technical information on the seed. This technical information includes the category to which the seed belongs, the type of dormancy, and the dormancy breaking technique identified by the CNSF. Finally, to ensure the success of reforestation efforts and to guarantee the use of the right seed in the right place, a map showing the growth area of ​​each species in Burkina Faso is included with its description sheet.