Germination and breaking seed dormancy ofAlpinia malaccensis

Rivai RR, Wardani FF, Devi MG. 2015. Germination and breaking seed dormancy of Alpinia malaccensis. Nusantara Bioscience 7: 67-72.Alpinia malaccensis belongs to the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and isgenerallypropagated by vegetative organs. Seed propagation is needed in order to improve the quality of plants through crossbreeding. The hard testa and small endosperm are the main problems in seed germination. The objectives of this research were todeterminethe best media for germination and method for breaking seed dormancy of A. malaccensis. The research was conducted at the Seed Conservation Laboratory, Center for Plant Conservation Bogor Botanic Gardens.ACompletely Randomized Design with three replications was used, and the two treatment factors were different germination media and the methods of breaking seed dormancy. Results showed that cocopeat was the best media for increasingA. malaccensis germinationrateone month after planting, whereas the methodofwounding the testa or soaking the seed in water with a temperature of 75 o C for 5 minutes showed the highestrateofA. malaccensis germination after three months of planting.