International Journal of Oil Palm

Fresh oil palm (Elaeis guineensis, Jacq) dura seeds were subjected to soil-pit pre-treatment during summer and compared with usual dry heat technique under standard laboratory germination condition. The duration of 40 d and 50d exposure under soil-pit resulted in high (88 percentage) germination. Usual dry heat treatment took 50 days to reach 68 percentage of germination. Extended pit exposure (60–70 d) gave no advantage; instead it has resulted in etiolation of germinated seeds. Simple Soil-Pre treatment for 40 d under pit can be recommended to produce quality planting material at a low cost. The study has implications in quality planting material & seed production programme in oil palm.