Effect of Temperature and Duration of Storage on Seed Germination in Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.)

Litchi produces difficult-to-store seeds, which is generally thought to be limited by desiccation sensitivity and cold intolerance. Experiments on effect of storage conditions on germination of Shahi, China and Bedana cultivar were conducted at ICAR- National Research Centre on Litchi in 2018 and 2019. Fruits of each cultivar were harvested at maturity and separated into three sub-lots: freshly extracted seeds which were sown immediately; the second and third lots comprised extracted and non-extracted seeds respectively, which were further divided into four sub-lots and stored at room temperature, 4 °C, 0 °C and − 20 °C. Stored seeds were sown for germination at weekly intervals. Fresh seeds exhibited more than 90% germination. More than 50% seeds were viable after 15 days at room temperature and at 4 °C. Freezing temperature storage, on the contrary, resulted in total loss of viability. Intact litchi seeds after 2 weeks fail to germinate.