Evaluation of yam (Dioscorea cayenensis – Dioscorea rotundata) seed germination grown in Centre Benin

Yam (Dioscorea cayenensis - Dioscorea rotundata) is an important subsistence crop for food security in tropical countries. In many countries where it has been cultivated the plant is usally propagate through vegetative multiplication. However surveyed in the farmers field showed yam flowering and production of the fruits with seed which can be used as seed for yam production in order to reduce to the tuber used at the planting moment. This study aims to evaluate the rate of seven seed yams germination on two substratums (blotting paper and ground). For each cultivar and on each substratum, three repetitions were applied in randomized complete block. Observed parameters were the first germination period of the seed after sowing, and the final germination rate by cultivar. These parameters were subjected to analysis of variance. Statistical analysis showed that there is no difference in the time of the first seed germination after sowing (p = 0.273) on the two substratums. For the germination rate, the difference observed between the two substratums is not more significant (p = 0.148) with 47.05% in the ground and 42.09% in the paper. However, cultivar Dodo presented the highest germination rate at both in ground 68% and using paper 57.32%. These results suggest that yam seeds germinate and take on average of 25 days to germinate, with an included germination rate from 26% to 68%. These results also showed also that yam seed can be used as sources of yam multiplication by yams’ farmers’.