Seed afterripening and germination photoinhibition in the genusCrocus(Iridaceae)

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangelia Skourti ◽  
Costas A. Thanos

AbstractMediterranean characteristics are attributed to the genusCrocus, which is inadequately studied in terms of seed germination. An afterripening requirement is very common in environments with warm and dry periods, and photoinhibition has been detected in many angiosperms inhabiting dry and open areas. The effects of afterripening and light on seed germination were investigated for the first time in 23 native GreekCrocustaxa, collected from various localities with either a Mediterranean or a temperate climate. Germination experiments were conducted in continuous darkness and in light at the optimal temperature for each taxon, with both freshly collected and afterripened seeds; warm stratification (20°C, darkness) was also examined in 22 taxa. A number of selected taxa were additionally investigated with respect to afterripening outdoors, afterripening and warm stratification at higher temperatures (35 and 25°C, respectively), stratification at 20/10°C, dry storage at low temperatures, response to gibberellic acid and phenology of embryo growth. It was postulated that an afterripening requirement is a characteristic of the genusCrocus, and we found that it can be fulfilled in nature during the Mediterranean dry summer. Also, for the vast majority of the taxa, warm stratification and stratification at 20/10°C can both meet the afterripening requirement. Embryos of the taxa studied are underdeveloped and have to grow prior to germination. Intrageneric differences of seed germination were observed only towards light, with photoinhibition being predominant in taxa from drier environments.

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoila Mercedes Aguilar-Franco ◽  
Alejandro Flores-Palacios ◽  
Alejandro Flores-Morales ◽  
Irene Perea-Arango ◽  
José de Jesús Arellano-García ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Density in inter and intraspecific plant-plant interactions affects the action modes of allelopathy (autotoxicity, negative and positive allelopathy). Some seeds exude compounds that inhibit the germination of others. Ipomoea murucoides and I. pauciflora are sympatric tree species that form patches at the local scale where one or the other dominates, possibly due to allelopathy in the seeds. The objective of this study was to determine the possible density-dependence of the allelopathic effect among seeds of these species through the measure of seed germination and seedling emergence. Methods In both species, allelopathy was measured as: a) germination in mixed sowing of both species at different proportions, b) germination in single-species trials at different densities after adding seed extracts of both species, and c) seedling emergence in seed mixtures of both species sown at different proportions beneath canopies of the two Ipomoea species. Results Seed germination of I. murucoides was increased by the presence of I. pauciflora and diminished at higher densities of its own seeds; however, seed germination of I. pauciflora was not affected by the presence of I. murucoides seeds. The addition of extracts (either from conspecifics or congeneric) diminished the germination of both species and at higher seed densities the germination was lower. Seedling emergence did not depend on the species under which the seeds were sown nor on the density of the seeds. Conclusions The germination experiments evidenced positive allelopathy and/or autotoxicity, while there was no evidence of allelopathic effects in seedling emergence. The allelopathic activity is reported in the seeds of these species for the first time.


1977 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Esashi ◽  
Y Ohhara

Non-dormant, upper cocklebur (Xanthium pensylvanicum Wallr.) seeds, incapable of germinating under ordinary conditions, can germinate when previously subjected to anaerobiosis; this has been termed the anaerobic induction of seed germination. Aerobic presoaking of the seeds was also required for successful anaerobic induction, and exerted two counter-acting effects on seed germination. When the time period of aerobic presoaking was sufficiently prolonged, the increasing duration of an anaerobic treatment resulted in proportional increase of germination potential but, when it was short, the effect of the anaerobiosis was saturated in a few days. Prolonging the aerobic presoaking period caused less response of the seed to the anaerobic induction, suggesting the development of some germination-inhibiting system during the aerobic presoaking period. This system could not develop in the absence of O2 or at low temperature. Thus, low temperature during prolonged presoaking produced a maximal response to anaerobic induction. Various germination stimulants, CO2, ethylene, gibberellic acid and benzyl adenine, did not significantly alter the effects of the presoaking.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 849-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathon I. Watkinson ◽  
Wallace G. Pill

Following dry storage for 5 or 11 months (new and old seeds, respectively) at 5 °C, less than 10% of the seeds of Indiangrass germinated as determined by a standard germination test. We attempted to increase germination by subjecting seeds to dormancy-breaking treatments, including sodium hypochlorite soak (5.25% v/v NaOCl; 20 or 60 min), prechilling (5 °C for 2 weeks), gibberellic acid during germination (GA3, 1000 mg·L-1), and combinations thereof. Treatment with NaOCl increased the germination of non-prechilled seeds only when they were germinated in GA3; a 60-min soak in NaOCl increased germination to 53% and 65% in new and old seeds, respectively. Prechilling increased germination to 65% and 47% in new and old seeds, respectively. Germination of new, prechilled seeds was increased further to 86% by either a 20-min soak in NaOCl or germination in GA3. Germination of old, prechilled seeds was not promoted further by treatment with NaOCl, but was increased to 67% by germination in GA3. Since NaOCl treatment alone failed to promote germination, we examined the effects on seedling emergence and growth of providing GA3 at 1000 mg·L-1 during the 2-week prechilling period. While prechilling alone increased emergence to an average 34% for new and old seeds, prechilling with GA3 increased emergence to 75% and 50% for new and old seeds, respectively. These treatments did not influence seedling shoot dry mass. Seed exposure to GA3 during rather than after prechilling was more effective in promoting Indiangrass establishment.


1972 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. ANDREWS ◽  
V. D. BURROWS

Dormoats are derivatives of crosses between Avena sativa L. and A. fatua L., designed to be sown in the fall to germinate the following spring. Strains vary in levels of seed dormancy at harvest and in their rates of after-ripening in dry storage. Germination of the seeds is stimulated by gibberellic acid. Embryos isolated from dormant seeds exhibit no dormancy but their germination is prevented by abscisic acid. Low temperatures (ca. 7 C) stimulate germination to different levels in various strains. Seeds enter a secondary dormancy when they fail to germinate in the imbibed state due to primary domancy. Seeds with secondary dormancy are not stimulated to germinate by low temperatures until partial after-ripening of the seeds in the dry state has occurred, but germination is stimulated by gibberellic acid without after-ripening. Secondary dormancy is proposed as a factor in the maintenance of undergerminated seed in the soil from fall planting into winter.


1976 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 319 ◽  
Author(s):  
MW Hagon

The germination and dormancy of Themeda australis, Danthonia spp., Stipa bigeniculata and Bothriochloa macra were investigated in whole dispersal units or caryopses. Germination of non-dormant units of the four species was not affected by light but was delayed by low temperatures. Such temperature regimes depressed the germination capacity of Themeda while alternating temperatures with a range greater than 10°C depressed the germination of Bothriochloa. The level of germination of Danthonia and Stipa was not affected by any of the temperature regimes used. Dormancy was reduced either by the application of gibberellic acid at concentrations of 100 ppm to 1000 ppm or by stratification. In addition, application of kinetin ( 10 -4M ) or opening the lemma suture broke the dormancy of Stipa dispersal units. The breakdown of dormancy during dry storage was also examined. Temperature alternations with maximum temperatures greater than 40°C reduced the level of dormancy of Themeda and Stipa within 1-2 months.


1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1105-1109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christa R. Schwintzer ◽  
Andrea Ostrofsky

Several factors affecting seed germination were investigated in Myricagale L., a nitrogen fixing shrub common on wet soils. Light was essential: seeds failed to germinate in the dark and required four 16-h photoperiods (one per day) for maximum germination. There was no absolute requirement for prechilling, but prechilling increased germination by 75% in 2-month-old seeds and by 164% in 4.5 year-old seeds. Leaching did not affect germination and 500 ppm gibberellic acid enhanced germination only 20%. The seeds were long-lived: there was no decrease in percent germination during 6 years of dry storage at 5 °C and germination remained high after 1 year of wet storage at 5 °C. Because M. gale seeds often germinate on water-worked substrates, the requirement for extended exposure to light for germination may serve as a mechanism to prevent unsuccessful germination of seeds that are reburied after brief exposure to light as sediments are worked by water.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-295
Author(s):  
Valentina Mursaliyeva ◽  
Akjunus Imanbayeva ◽  
Rano Parkhatova

The results of evaluating the laboratory seed germination of endemic Allochrusa gypsophiloides (Turkestan soap root), depending on storage conditions in combination with gibberellic acid treatment (GA3), are presented. In dry storage, control seeds were characterised by a long after-ripening period and a fluctuating germination behaviour upon removal from storage, with a maximum value of 23%. The sensitivity of seeds to GA3 during dry storage varied significantly, with two germination peaks at 5-7 months, and 12 months (37.5 and 50% germination, respectively). Cold stratification and cryo-preservation accelerated seed after-ripening, promoted germination synchronisation and increased seed sensitivity to GA3. The cold stratification of seeds increased germination four months earlier than during dry storage. GA3 increased germination from 16.7 and 18.3% for the control to 37.5 and 45% for seeds cryopreserved for 5 and 12 months, respectively. We recommend cryopreserving Turkestan soap root seeds to avoid viability loss and to then germinate the seeds after pretreatment with GA3.


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