American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2022, 13, 1167-1182 https://www.scirp.org/journal/ajps ISSN Online: 2158-2750 ISSN Print: 2158-2742 DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2022.139079 Sep. 8, 2022 1167 American Journal of Plant Sciences Ecophysiology of Lophira lanceolata Seeds Germination and Conservation Perspectives Aliou Dicko 1* , Belarmain Fandohan 2 , Armand Kuyema Natta 1,3 1 Laboratory of Ecology, Botany and Plant Biology (LEB), Parakou, Benin 2 Ecole de Foresterie Tropicale, Université Nationale d’Agriculture (UNA), Ketou, Benin 3 Faculty of Agronomy, University of Parakou (UP), Parakou, Benin Abstract Lophira lanceolata is a multi-purpose woody plant species used by local pop- ulations in Benin. Its seeds are used for the manufacture of edible vegetable oil and also for medicinal care. However, reproduction by seed of this plant species is compromised not only by the multiple uses made of the seeds, but also by the difficulties of germination in the natural environment. Several ecological factors could explain this difficulty of germination. In this study, we investigated the species seeds ecophysiology in order to develop seedlings production techniques for its reintroduction. Beta regression was performed to test the effect of water, light and provenance on seeds germination rate. The germination speed was expressed as the median germination time. The results showed that the germination rate was better under light conditions (β = 0.77674 ± 0.14954, Z = 5.194, p < 0.0000). The germination rate decreased as the frequency of watering increased (β = −0.28222 ± 0.14809, Z = −1.906, p = 0.0567). The best provenance was the phytodistrict of Atacora chain. The cumulative germination rate reached 50% after 54 days for seeds collected from Atacora chain and after 57 days under light conditions. Regarding the level of watering, the germination rate remained below 50% regardless the treatment. The germination speed was higher for seeds collected from Ataco- ra chain and that have germinated under light conditions and watered twice a week. For the sustainable management of L. lanceolata, domestication by es- tablishment of plantations by rural communities is recommended based on seeds from Atacora chain. Keywords Benin, Germination Speed, Oilseed, Phytodistrict, Recalcitrant Seed, West Africa How to cite this paper: Dicko, A., Fando- han, B. and Natta, A.K. (2022) Ecophysiol- ogy of Lophira lanceolata Seeds Germina- tion and Conservation Perspectives. Amer- ican Journal of Plant Sciences, 13, 1167- 1182. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2022.139079 Received: June 9, 2022 Accepted: September 5, 2022 Published: September 8, 2022 Copyright © 2022 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access