Application . Acid scarification of hardseeded legumes is an effective way to remove seed coat dormancy of black locust and honeylocust, but acid is too costly or unavailable in many locations. For small nurseries, hot water soaks, nicking, or burning should be suitable, while the latter two methods might be too labor-intensive for larger nurseries .Abstract . Twenty different methods of seedcoat scarification were tested on Gleditsia triacanthos L. and Robinia pseudoacacia L. to find an alternative to acid scarification for these species . For germination testing, nicking or burning were best, and these same methods could be used in small nurseries with adequate labor . For larger quantities, hot water soaks or heat shock soak treatments yielded satisfactory, though lower, germination .

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The study was conducted at Regional Research Station, Balsamand of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana). The experimental area has an arid climate with annual rainfall of 220 mm. The soil has been classified as mixed hyperthermic typic torripsament of Balsamand series. About one year old seedlings of Azadirachta indica, Ailanthus excelsa, Albizia lebbeck and Prosopis cineraria were planted in 0.6 m deep pits with 0.6 m diameter. The pits were filled with mixture of soil, FYM and silt in proportion of 2:1:1, respectively. After transplantation, fourteen supplementary basin irrigation (10 lt water/plant) were given at varying intervals for establishing the tree seedlings for a total period of one and half years. After ten years of transplantation Mahaneem (Ailanthus excelsa) exhibited maximum height (10.4 m) and girth at breast height (106.6 cm) as compared to other tree species. The soil physical as well as chemical properties were also considerably improved under Ailanthus excelsa plantation. Thus, Mahaneem tree can be effectively used in large-scale afforestation programmes in arid regions.