| dc.description.abstract | The seeds of Vernonia galamensis (Cass.) Less. contain 35-45% of triglyceride oil
rich in vernolic acid, a naturally epoxidized fatty acid with low viscosity. Naturally
epoxidized, vernolic acid is a potentially useful raw material for manufacturing nonozone
depleting paints and coatings.
Exploitation of V. galamensis as a crop could be potentially hampered by ill
understood seed dormancy characteristics. Besides, seed viability assessments via a
germination test are not possible in the absence of an appropriate dormancy release
protocol. To address this problem, the seeds of two subsp (subsp nairobiensis and
subsp afromontana var. gibbosa) harvested at the point of natural dispersal were
subjected to chilling and incubation temperature treatments with a view to developing
appropriate dormancy release procedure. The results revealed that chilling fully
imbibed seeds for at least two weeks at 5oC can be used to overcome seed dormancy
prior to incubating at 30/25 or 25/17oC. | en_US |
