Terminalia brownii Fresen in the Combretaceae family, is one of the indigenous tree species used in agroforestry, afforestation and reforestation programmes in drylands of Kenya. It is widely distributed in the semi-arid lands of East, Central and West Africa. It is an important drought tolerant and multipurpose agroforestry species whose potential is underutilized due to poor seed germination. Its products such as timbers, posts, charcoal and curving wood among others are not available in required quantities for domestic and industrial use. Exploitation of T. brownii is on the increase, but efforts to promote its planting are thwarted by lack of seedlings attributed to poor seed germination. This study investigated dormancy and germination of T. brownii seeds. Mature T. brownii fruits were harvested from Ikanga, Mbumbuni, Kabururu and Kimose sites; in Kitui, Makueni, Tharaka Nithi and Baringo counties of Kenya respectively. Flowering and fruiting was monitored and mature fruits harvested for dormancy and germination tests. To conduct germination tests, one hundred fruits and extracted seeds were subjected to each of the following treatments: mature whole fruits (control), dewinged fruits, fruits nipped at the distal and proximal ends and extracted seeds in four replicates. Extracted seeds started germinating after incubation for 7 days, while fruits nipped at the distal end took 21 days. The control and all other treatments from all sites failed to germinate after an incubation period of 60 days. Extracted T. brownii seeds recorded the highest germination with the best at 76% from Ikanga, while those nipped at the distal ends recorded a mean germination of 13% across all sites. There is evidence suggesting that T. brownii fruits recorded poor germination due physiological seed dormancy probably imposed by the hard samara fruit. These findings suggest that T. brownii fruits from Kimose should be nipped at the distal end, while those from Eastern Kenya (Kitui and Makueni Counties) should be extracted completely by removing the seed from the fruit to enhance germination. These results will inform choice of propagation of T. brownii seeds and enhance its planting in various agroforestry practices and afforestation programmes.

Combretaceae科的Terminalia brownii Fresen是肯尼亚干旱地区农林业，植树造林和再造林计划中使用的本土树种之一。它广泛分布在东非，中非和西非的半干旱地区。它是一种重要的耐旱和多用途农林业品种，由于种子发芽差，其潜力未得到充分利用。其产品（如木材，柱子，木炭和弯曲木材）无法满足家用和工业用途的需求。棕褐线虫（T. brownii）的开发正在增加，但由于缺乏种子发芽，导致缺乏苗木，阻碍了其推广工作。这项研究调查了T. brownii种子的休眠和萌发。成熟从伊肯加，姆本布尼，Kabururu和Kimose地点收获棕褐色T. brownii果实；在肯尼亚的Kitui，Makueni，Tharaka Nithi和Baringo县。监测开花结果，并收获成熟果实用于休眠和发芽测试。为了进行发芽测试，对一百种水果和提取的种子进行以下每种处理：成熟的完整水果（对照），已结露的水果，在前端和近端咬断的水果以及四次重复提取的种子。孵育7天后，提取的种子开始发芽，而在末端夹住的果实则需要21天。孵育60天后，来自所有位点的对照和所有其他处理方法均无法发芽。提取的T. brownii种子的萌发率最高，其中以Ikanga的发芽率最高，为76％，而在远端刺破的种子在所有部位的平均发芽率为13％。有证据表明，由于硬翅果果实可能造成生理种子休眠，因此棕褐色T. brownii果实发芽较差。这些发现表明，应将Kimose的T. brownii果实的末端摘除，而肯尼亚东部（Kitui和Makueni县）的T. brownii果实应通过从果实上除去种子以增强发芽的方法完全提取。这些结果将为选择棕褐色种子的繁殖提供依据，并在各种农林业实践和造林计划中加强其播种。