Comparative evaluation of pre-sowing seed treatments on seed germination and seedling growth of Acacia catechu

Introduction

Acacia catechu Khair is a medium-sized tree of the Fabaceae family, known by many other names, such as catch Katha, and is widely spread in many states, such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. Khair is a multipurpose tree used for medicinal purposes, and in ancient times, it was considered an important place in Ayurveda. (Imran and Shaikh 2025) [1] It has been used for the treatment of diseases for a long time now. The wood bark of Khair (Acacia catechu) is used to treat diseases. Its heartwood contains a substance called Katha, which has many chemical properties, such as tannins, catechins, and flavonoid compounds. (Agravat et al., 2025) [2] Traditional medicinal uses of Acacia catechu are a multi-purpose tree that is highly valued for its medicinal properties. This plant has long been utilized in traditional medicine and Ayurveda, particularly in Asia, for its valuable nutritional attributes. In Ayurveda, Sidney (Stohs and Bagchi, 2015) [3] there are many references that prove that A. catechu is a beneficial and potent plant with many medicinal properties, including the treatment of skin diseases; hence, (Kumari et al., 2022) [4] A. catechu plant has been used to treat a variety of diseases, especially asthma, bronchitis, cancer, chest pain, diarrhea, mouth ulcers, sore throat, ulcers, vitiligo (white spots), and wound healing. It also has antifungal, antiviral, and spasmolytic properties, as well as hypoglycaemic properties. (Adhikari et al., 2021) [5] Khair bark contains chemical properties such as alkaloids and several other highly potent active components that exhibit antimicrobial activity; therefore, it also acts as a disinfectant for the management of wounds and burns, thereby reducing the chances of infection at the wound site. (Yadav et al., 2019) [6] Due to the presence of alkaloids and other active components in Khair, it is used to treat various dermatological diseases. Traditional healers in Rajasthan and Gujarat (India) apply a paste of Acacia catechu wood powder (mixed with honey) to peripheral areas, especially in cases involving the lower limbs. It is an Ayurvedic remedy for treating diabetes. (Mishra et al., 2025) [7] The medicinal uses of A. catechu are mainly due to its outer covering and the extract obtained from its 'heartwood' (inner hard part of the tree trunk) (called catechu or ketch), which also has a variety of chemical properties and is known to be rich in bioactive compounds. However, the astringent, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties of A. catechu have been studied extensively. (Binita and Gupta 2023) [8] The Khair tree is primarily utilized as firewood and fuel wood, as well as for the production of charcoal. Additionally, it is employed as timber for constructing house frames, windows, and doors, and for crafting agricultural tools. (K.N. Singhand Brij Lal 2006) [9] Acacia species promote soli conservation because their roots reach deep, helping to prevent soil erosion, especially in sloping areas. Therefore, they are used in areas with steep slopes to prevent soil erosion. (Sourabh et al., 2023) [10] Acacia catechu play an essential role in maintaining forest productivity and biodiversity a leguminous tree species, it forms symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which increases soil fertility and enhances nutrient cycling (Koutika et al, 2019) [11] . Khair has long roots that prevent soil erosion, so it is especially cultivated in poor and sloping areas. It is a drought-tolerant species that can survive in arid and semi-arid areas, making it easily cultivated in droughtprone areas. It helps in carbon sequestration. It absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. Its trees, plants, birds, and other creatures provide habitat and food, thereby supporting biodiversity. (Kumar et al, .2022) [12] Trees of this family are used in land restoration. They help rehabilitate unfertile and damaged land because they grow easily even in low-fertility soils. Therefore, they are planted in areas that have become unproductive or where no other tree species can grow. This species is planted in such areas to protect the area (Patil et al. 2024) [13] Forest species, such as Acacia catechu, suffer from significant seed dormancy problems. This is usually due to the hard seed coat, which prevents water from penetrating inside, causing it to go into dormancy. The proper temperature is crucial for the germination of Khair seeds. Occasionally, seeds require lighter to germinate. Several techniques are adopted to promote good germination in Khair, such as sulfuric acid treatment, hot water treatment, and mechanical saccharification. (Mulik Abbaker Ibrahim Yousif. 2019) [14]

Materials and Methodology

The present review was conduct through a of Acacia catechu, is based on an overview of the published scientific literature related to seed treatments of Acacia catechu, including their effects on various growth parameters and seed germination research paper for study: Information has been obtained from review articles, dissertations, technical reports and books. For this, I have obtained information from online sources like Google Scholar, Research Gate, Science Direct Scoops and Web of Science.

Botanical Description 3.1 Tree Morphology

Acacia catechu is a medium-sized tree of the Fabaceae family commonly known as black catechu, is derived from the Greek word "thorns," which means sharp or thorny. (Rout et al, 2021) [15] It is a medium-sized tree that grows up to 15 m tall. It has brown bark, 12-15 mm thick, and a curved, thorny trunk, approximately 30-40 cm long. Its branches were irregularly shaped (Ahmed, M. A.2020) [16] . Contributing to its characteristic appearance There are thorns on every branch of the Khair tree. (Sangare et al, 2026) [17]

Leaves (phyllodes)

Leaves are compound, with 4-5 small spines on the main stem. The leaf branches are approximately 10-20 cm long and bear 20-60 small leaflets, each 3-3 cm long. The leaves are compound and bipinnate, with 9-30 pairs of pinnate leaves, each pair having 16-50 pairs of glabrous, oblong, pubescent, 2-6 mm long leaflets, and bearing pairs of curved spines. The flowers are borne on an axillary spike 5-10 cm long and range from creamy to pale yellow. (Binita et al, 2023) [8] (Singh et al., 2025) [18]

Flowering Phenology

Acacia catechu flowers seasonally, naturally during the monsoon of June-August. The flowers are small, pale yellow to creamy white, (Thakur et al 2025) [18] and borne in axillary spike 5-10 cm long and range Flowering is influenced by environmental factors such as rainfall, temperature and photoperiod. Pollination is primarily entomophilous, involving a variety of insects. Flowering is followed by fruiting, and the pods ripen after the monsoon and during the winter season yellow (Rahaman et al. 2022) [19]

Inflorescence and Fruits

Acacia catechu flowers are slender axillary spikes containing numerous small, bisexual flowers. These spikes typically arise from the leaf axils and are densely packed with flowers. The flowers typically bloom during the monsoon season, allowing for good insect pollination. The fruit is pod-shaped, approximately 5-7 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide, and is a shiny brown colour. (Khandekar et al., 2019) [20]

Seed Characteristics

Acacia catechu seeds are small, with a hard coating, dark brown to black in colour, and enclosed within flattened pods, 10-15 cm long. Seed characteristics such as seed size, weight, viability, and germination behaviour vary significantly across seed sources and geographical locations. The hard seed coating induces physical dormancy, preventing the seeds from germinating quickly. Pretreatment methods such as hot water soaking or acid soaking and scarification are often required to enhance germination. (Jhilta et al, 2018), (Ahad, and Varghese 2020 [21,22]

Habitat

Acacia catechu is a tropical and subtropical deciduous tree found at altitudes of 200-1200 m above sea level. It grows well in hot and dry climates and is cultivated worldwide. (Sangare et al 2026) [17] These drought-tolerant trees do well in well-drained loam soil, which is considered the most suitable for their growth. Khair plantations are spread over approximately 5,800 square kilometres of land across the country. Every year, about 63,000 tonnes of khair wood is used to make catechu. (Imran and Shaikh 2024) [1] 5. Seed Dormancy Seed dormancy, a physiological condition that prevents a viable seed from germinating even under good conditions (Umrani and Vannangamudi 2005) [23] , shows significant variation in the storage time of different seed types. Approximately seeds can be stored for several months, while others lose their viability quickly. Consisting of an outer protective layer and an inner embryo that develops into a plant, seeds begin to germinate when water penetrates the seed coat, causing swelling and subsequent plant growth. (Baskin and Baskin, 2004) which include sulfuric acid treatment and mechanical saccharification, but hot water treatment is considered to be the most effective. The seeds are soaked in hot water to soften them. Seed dormancy is divided into physical, morphological and physiological dormancy. These types are differentiated based on the severity of seed selection and embryo development, and internal physical barriers. (Ghassali et al. 2022) [24] [25] Sarvade et al., (2014) [26] 2. Morphological dormancy Dormancy occurs in some seeds, in which the embryo is not fully developed at the time of seed dispersal. If such seeds are planted immediately after harvest, they do not germinate.

Seed immature condition Finch and Leubner (2006) [27] 3. physical dormancy In physical dormancy, the seed coat becomes so rigid that it cannot absorb water, and germination does not occur even when a suitable environment is available.

Mechanical scarification, chemical treatment, and boiling water soaking.

Carol C. Baskin, & Jerry M. Baskin1 (2005) [28]

Morphological Dormancy

Seed dormancy is a type of dormancy in which the embryo is not fully developed at the time of seed dispersal. Germination in these seeds requires embryonic development. Embryos require time to grow and develop before germination. Kumar et al., (2024) [29] The embryo grows when conditions allow for favourable moisture and temperature, and then the seed germinates.

Physical Dormancy

Seed Treatment

Forest tree species often suffer from problems such as hard seed coats, dormancy, low germination percentage, and uneven germination. To overcome these problems and increase the germination capacity of seeds, various types of seed treatments have been adopted before sowing (Kelil and Taye, 2026) [30] . Seed treatment is an important pre-sowing technique in which seeds are treated with physicochemical and biological methods to break dormancy and promote seed germination and produce healthy plants. (Hanaoka et al. 2014) [31] Seed treatment plays an important role in producing high-quality seedlings in forest nurseries. One of the most commonly used methods for forest species is hot water treatment, which includes techniques such as mechanical saccharification. In species with hard seed selection, hot water treatment and light scarification increase water absorption, leading to faster and more uniform germination (Patil et al, 2012) [32] . Chemical treatments using H 2 SO 4 , GA3, and KNO 3 were used. This treatment helps reduce seed hardness and increase embryo activity. Physical dormancy is common in forest species because of their hard seed coats. Hot water treatment, sulfuric acid cupping, and scarification have been shown to significantly increase the germination percentage of these species, inducing proper germination. Proper seed treatment not only increases germination but also improves the initial growth, survival rate, and nursery performance of seedlings. (Satti et al., 2016) [33]

Soaking in Hot Water

For seeds with hard coatings, soaking in boiling hot water has proven to be an advantageous method this treatment involves soaking seeds in hot water for 2-48 hours, depending on the species Subabul seeds soaked in hot water for 12 hours exhibited a significantly increased germination percentage (42.22%) (Hamad and Anwer,2021) [35] 3. 2005 [36] Chichaghare et al., 2020) [37] . Azad et al., 2010 [38] Asif et al., (2020) [39] .

Mechanical

Acid Scarification

Soaking seeds in concentrated sulphuric acid is a common method for softening the seed coat. Sulphuric acid is believed to disrupt the seed coat and expose the lumens of the macroscale's cells, facilitating water imbibition Acacia auriculoformis seeds treated with concentrated H2SO4 for 5-10 minutes exhibited the highest germination percentage of 92-96%. Studied concentrated H₂SO₄ treatment in Acacia cyanophylla; 90 min treatment at 15 °C resulted in 98.5% germination.

Olatunji et al. (2012)

Shaybany and Rouhani (1976) [41] 5.

Gibberellic acid (GA3)

Seed treatment with GA3 increases germination rates and stimulates enzyme activity, as well as promoting root and shoot growth.

followed by Acacia auriculiformis (54%), Delonix regia (47%), and Cassia fistula (33%).

Praticia et al (2023) [42] 6. Beejamrutha

To prepare Beejamrutha 500 g. of fresh cow dung and 500 ml of cow urine are mixed, and 10 g. of lime are added to it.

This helps break seed dormancy and increases seed viability and vigour. The germination percentage increased to 55.93% with the Beejamrutha compared to 49.4% in the control. [43] 7.

Rahul et al. (2024)

Cow urine and cow dung slurry

Cow dung slurry and cow urine treatment breaks the dormancy of the seed and increases the germination percentage of the seed and increases the height of the seedling and gives more leaves.

Soaking seeds in cow urine for 12 hours resulted in 66.11% germination, and soaking them in cow dung solution for 12 hours increased the plant height by 33.19 cm and the number of leaves.

Shinde and Malshe (2015) [44] [45] 2.

Acacia modesta

Mechanical, chemical, and organic methods, Helps break the hard seed code, accelerates germination, increases seedling growth and enhances nutrient uptake Mechanical, scarification resulted in the highest germination (65.83%) Saurav et al, (2022) [46] 3. [32] 2.

A. etbaica, A. hamoulosa, and

Hot water, sulphuric acid, cold water treatment Acacia nilotica 76.2% (H₂SO₄ 3 mint) 9.99 cm ------8.09 cm ------Gilani et al, (2019) [50] 3.

Hot water, sulphuric acid, cold water treatment Acacia Senegal 90.5% (H₂SO₄ 3 mint) -----------------------------

Conclusion

Acacia catechu is an economical and medicinal tree but due to hard seed coat in its seed dormancy is found due to which germination and inequality have been observed. It has been seen from comparative study of various research studies that pre-sowing treatment methods are adopted which play an important role in breaking the seed dormancy and increasing the growth of plants like hot water treatment, sulfuric acid treatment, cold water treatment, and mechanical scarification, therefore that germination is fast. The most suitable treatment for acacia species has been found to be soaking in hot water in which germination up to 91.26% was observed and at the similar time sulfuric acid treatment has been found to be up to 81%. These treatments improved germination speed and increased plant growth and vigour. Therefore, these treatments may prove useful for large-scale plant production and conservation. Further detailed research is needed to evaluate the long-term effects and develop successful and effective strategies for sustainable production and conservation of this species.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgmentThe authors are deeply grateful for the support of the institutions that helped prepare this review article and for the availability of academic and scientific literature. The authors are also grateful to all the researchers whose published work provided valuable information and scientific insights for this review. No specific financial support was received in the preparation of this manuscript.

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