Chemical Methods to Improve  Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos L.)

The present study aimed to improve the seed germination and plantlet development of honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) using two types of edaphic substrate (peat and peat+sand) and different chemical substances. Breaking physical dormancy for some forest seeds is a challenge for researchers and forest managers in order to obtain a homogeneous germination on larger areas. Germination percentage of honey locust seeds were investigated by using different chemical treatments as follows: calcium hydroxide; concentrated solution of sodium 4-nitrophenolate; solution with a content of auxines; copper sulphate; potassium permanganate and concentrated sulfuric acid. The highest percentage of seed germination was obtained when the seeds were immersed in an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid (14%), followed by 12.5% (concentrated solution of sodium 4-nitrophenolate) and 12.3% (solution with a content of auxins). The lowest values (5%) were recorded when copper sulphate was used. Regarding the different types of studied substrates, the highest percentage of germination was obtained on peat + sand. As regards to seedling development, the highest values were obtained on the peat + sand substrate, with seeds treated with sulfuric acid (15.0 cm). The concentrated solution of sodium 4-nitrophenolate and solution with auxins recorded also high values, 15.2 cm, respectively 14.9 cm. The lowest values for seedling height (11 cm) was noted when seeds were treated with potassium permanganate.

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Brief Exposure to Boiling Water Combined with Cold-moist Stratification Enhances Seed Germination of New Jersey Tea

HortTechnology ◽

10.21273/horttech.20.3.623 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 623-625 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. Ryan Stewart ◽

Irene McGary

Keyword(s):

New Jersey ◽

Sulfuric Acid ◽

Seed Germination ◽

Tallgrass Prairie ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Boiling Water ◽

High Quality ◽

Natural Landscapes ◽

Chilling Temperatures ◽

Ceanothus Americanus

Although there is increasing interest in propagating prairie plants native to the midwestern United States for managed and natural landscapes, several species, including new jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus), are difficult to germinate from seeds. New jersey tea, which is an attractive, compact woody shrub, is found in high-quality prairie remnants throughout the tallgrass prairie region. Developing a protocol to increase the uniformity of seed germination in this species would allow for more widespread horticultural cultivation of this stress-resistant, nitrogen-fixing species. We hypothesized that the germination response of seeds of new jersey tea would be enhanced by replicating conditions that mimic their natural environment, which included treatments under controlled conditions exposing seeds to chilling temperatures, sulfuric acid, and boiling water. Two minutes of exposure to boiling water followed by 60 days of cold-moist stratification at 4 °C resulted in the highest germination percentage (48%) and mean daily germination (2.18 seeds/day). Scarification with 98% sulfuric acid for 15 min followed by 60 days of cold-moist stratification resulted in significant, but lower levels of germination percentage than seeds exposed to boiling water and cold-moist stratification. Cold-moist stratification in darkness and in an 18-hour photoperiod at 4 °C did not stimulate germination to a level suitable for production purposes. However, tetrazolium tests indicated that 79% of the seeds were viable. We conclude that cold-moist stratification should be used with boiling-water or acid-scarification to uniformly produce germinated seedlings of new jersey tea. However, nonresponsive seeds should not be discarded because they may germinate in later years if kept under appropriate conditions.

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Methods of Seed Germination Stimulation Exemplified by Seeds of Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

Vestnik Volgogradskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta Serija 11 Estestvennye nauki ◽

10.15688/jvolsu11.2014.1.1 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 6-12

Author(s):

Ekaterina Vasichkina ◽

◽

Violetta Pavlova ◽

Elena Nefedyeva ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Gleditsia Triacanthos ◽

Honey Locust

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Effects of Aeschynomene histrix Poir. seed treatment on germination

BASE - Numéro 3 ◽

10.25518/1780-4507.19268 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 247-252

Author(s):

Bignon Daniel Maxime Houndjo ◽

Sébastien Adjolohoun ◽

Dourossimi Adam Adenile ◽

Marcel Houinato ◽

Brice Augustin Sinsin

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Seed Treatment ◽

Seedling Emergence ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Hot Water ◽

Physical Dormancy ◽

Cattle Faeces ◽

The Subject ◽

Number Of Seeds ◽

Three Phases

Description of the subject. Poor germination associated with physical dormancy was experienced in the legume Aeschynomene histrix Poir. seeds and can reduce the establishment and growth of this species. Objectives. To evaluate the effects of different pre-planting treatments, including digestion by Lagune cattle or other preplanting treatments on the germinability of A. histrix seeds. Method. The experiment was divided into three phases. Firstly, six Lagune cattle (three young bulls and three heifers) were fed individually with 1,000 seeds and these seeds were subsequently collected from faeces. Secondly, seed germination was compared among seeds defecated by cattle and seeds submitted to seven other pre-planting treatments: control (intact untreated seeds); seeds scarified using sandpaper; and seeds immersed in 80 °C-hot water for 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 min. Thirdly, we also assessed the effect of crumbling cattle faeces on A. histrix germinability. Results. The results show that Lagune cattle can disperse seeds of A. histrix with maximum recovery on the second day after ingestion. Of the number of seeds fed 13.42% were recovered. The germination percentage was greatest for sandpaper scarified seeds (96%) and seeds pre-heated during 2 min (86%), but least for digested seeds (4.27%). Breaking-down the dung doubled seedling emergence from digested seeds. Conclusions. As it is desirable to break dormancy of A. histrix seeds, the use of mechanical scarification using sandpapering or hot water scarification 80 °C at 2 min may be more beneficial than cattle digestion.

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Physiological, physical, and morpho-anatomical changes in Libidibia ferrea ((Mart. ex Tul.) L.P. Queiroz) seeds after overcoming dormancy

Journal of Seed Science ◽

10.1590/2317-1545v37n1140433 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 26-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Antônio César Batista Matos ◽

Glauciana da Mata Ataíde ◽

Eduardo Euclydes de Lima e Borges

Keyword(s):

Sulfuric Acid ◽

Seed Coat ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Seedling Production ◽

Forest Species ◽

Physical Dormancy ◽

Anatomical Changes ◽

Time Of Application ◽

Before And After ◽

Triphasic Pattern

Seed dormancy is a phenomenon that affects the distribution of plant species in time. However, it may slow germination and consequently hinder seedling production in nurseries. Many seeds of forest species of the Fabaceae family, such as Libidibia ferrea (Brazilian ironwood), have physical dormancy caused by impermeability of the seed coat to water. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological, physical, and morpho-anatomical characteristics of L. ferrea seeds before and after application of different treatments for overcoming dormancy. We evaluated the imbibition curves, germination percentage, germination speed index (GSI), the force required to puncture the micropylar region, and morpho-anatomical changes through images obtained from a scanning electron microscope (SEM) before and after application of treatments for overcoming dormancy. L. ferrea seeds immersed in sulfuric acid show a triphasic pattern of imbibition. The required force to puncture the micropylar region of L. ferrea seeds is less for both the treatment with boiling water and for treatments with sulfuric acid. In addition, the required force to puncture the micropylar region decreases during imbibition of the seeds after application of sulfuric acid. The time of application of sulfuric acid influences the thickness of the material removed from the macrosclereid layer of the seed coat.

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Dormancy breakage in Cercis chinensis seeds

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.1139/cjps-2019-0229 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 100 (6) ◽

pp. 666-673

Author(s):

Yunpeng Gao ◽

Mingwei Zhu ◽

Qiuyue Ma ◽

Shuxian Li

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Seed Dormancy ◽

Seed Coat ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Physical Dormancy ◽

Optimal Method ◽

Hard Seed ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Physiological Dormancy ◽

Hard Seed Coat

The seeds of Cercis chinensis Bunge are important for reproduction and propagation, but strong dormancy controls their germination. To elucidate the causes of seed dormancy in C. chinensis, we investigated the permeability of the hard seed coat and the contribution of the endosperm to physical dormancy, and we examined the effect of extracts from the seed coat and endosperm. In addition, the effectiveness of scarification methods to break seed dormancy was compared. Cercis chinensis seeds exhibited physical and physiological dormancy. The hard seed coat played an important role in limiting water uptake, and the endosperm acted as a physical barrier that restricted embryo development in imbibed seeds. Germination percentage of Chinese cabbage [Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis (L.) Hanelt] seeds was reduced from 98% (control) to 28.3% and 56.7% with a seed-coat extract and an endosperm extract, respectively. This demonstrated that both the seed coat and endosperm contained endogenous inhibitors, but the seed-coat extract resulted in stronger inhibition. Mechanical scarification, thermal scarification, and chemical scarification had positive effects on C. chinensis seed germination. Soaking non-scarified seeds in gibberellic acid (GA3) solution did not promote germination; however, treatment with exogenous GA3 following scarification significantly improved germination. The optimal method for promoting C. chinensis seed germination was soaking scarified seeds in 500 mg·L−1 GA3 for 24 h followed by cold stratification at 5 °C for 2 mo.

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Effect of H2O-Based Low-Pressure Plasma (LPP) Treatment on the Germination of Bambara Groundnut Seeds

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020338 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 338

Author(s):

Naeem Ahmed ◽

Asad Masood ◽

Kim S. Siow ◽

M. F. Mohd Razip Wee ◽

Rahmat Zaki Auliya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Seed Germination ◽

Chemical Modification ◽

Low Pressure ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Bambara Groundnut ◽

Pressure Plasma ◽

Low Pressure Plasma ◽

Amine Groups

In general, seed germination is improved by low-pressure plasma (LPP) treatment using precursors such as air, nitrogen, argon, or water (H2O). Here, H2O-based LPP treatment using the optimized parameters of 10 W and 10 s improves the germination of Bambara groundnut seeds by 22%. LPP increases the wettability and roughness of the seed hilum while oxidizing the surface with carboxyl and amine groups. In this H2O-based treatment of Bambara groundnut seeds, combinatory etching and chemical modification facilitated the imbibition process and increased the germination percentage. The success of this method has the potential to be scaled up to solve food security with seeds otherwise facing germination-related issues.

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Asymbiotic germination of Vanilla planifolia in relation to the timing of seed collection and seed pretreatments

Botanical Studies ◽

10.1186/s40529-021-00311-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Chih-Hsin Yeh ◽

Kai-Yi Chen ◽

Yung-I. Lee

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Seed Development ◽

Seed Coat ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Vanilla Planifolia ◽

Outermost Layer ◽

Seed Collection ◽

Seed Pretreatment ◽

Immature Seeds ◽

Mature Seeds

Abstract Background Vanilla planifolia is an important tropical orchid for production of natural vanilla flavor. Traditionally, V. planifolia is propagated by stem cuttings, which produces identical genotype that are sensitive to virulent pathogens. However, propagation with seed germination of V. planifolia is intricate and unstable because the seed coat is extremely hard with strong hydrophobic nature. A better understanding of seed development, especially the formation of impermeable seed coat would provide insights into seed propagation and conservation of genetic resources of Vanilla. Results We found that soaking mature seeds in 4% sodium hypochlorite solution from 75 to 90 min significantly increased germination. For the culture of immature seeds, the seed collection at 45 days after pollination (DAP) had the highest germination percentage. We then investigated the anatomical features during seed development that associated with the effect of seed pretreatment on raising seed germination percentage. The 45-DAP immature seeds have developed globular embryos and the thickened non-lignified cell wall at the outermost layer of the outer seed coat. Seeds at 60 DAP and subsequent stages germinated poorly. As the seed approached maturity, the cell wall of the outermost layer of the outer seed coat became lignified and finally compressed into a thick envelope at maturity. On toluidine blue O staining, the wall of outer seed coat stained greenish blue, indicating the presence of phenolic compounds. As well, on Nile red staining, a cuticular substance was detected in the surface wall of the embryo proper and the innermost wall of the inner seed coat. Conclusion We report a reliable protocol for seed pretreatment of mature seeds and for immature seeds culture based on a defined time schedule of V. plantifolia seed development. The window for successful germination of culturing immature seed was short. The quick accumulation of lignin, phenolics and/or phytomelanins in the seed coat may seriously inhibit seed germination after 45 DAP. As seeds matured, the thickened and lignified seed coat formed an impermeable envelope surrounding the embryo, which may play an important role in inducing dormancy. Further studies covering different maturity of green capsules are required to understand the optimal seed maturity and germination of seeds.

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Effect of Environmental Factors on the Germination and Emergence of Drunken Horse Grass (Achnatherum inebrians)

Weed Science ◽

10.1017/wsc.2020.81 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-29

Author(s):

Yonghuan Yue ◽

Guili Jin ◽

Weihua Lu ◽

Ke Gong ◽

Wanqiang Han ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Seedling Emergence ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Western China ◽

Burial Depth ◽

Achnatherum Inebrians ◽

Water Ph

Abstract Drunken horse grass [Achnatherum inebrians (Hance) Keng] is a perennial poisonous weed in western China. A comprehensive understanding of the ecological response of A. inebrians germination to environmental factors would facilitate the formulation of better management strategies for this weed. Experiments were conducted under laboratory conditions to assess the effects of various abiotic factors, including temperature, light, water, pH and burial depth, on the seed germination and seedling emergence of A. inebrians. The seeds germinated at constant temperatures of 15, 20, 25, 30, 35°C and in alternating-temperature regimes of 15/5, 20/10, 25/15, 30/20, 35/25, 40/30°C, and the seed germination percentages under constant and alternating temperatures ranged from 51% to 94% and 15% to 93%, respectively. Maximum germination occurred at a constant temperature of 25°C, and germination was prevented at 45/35°C. Light did not appear to affect seed germination. The germination percentage of seeds was more than 75% in the pH range of 5 to 10, with the highest germination percentage at pH 6. The seeds germinated at osmotic potentials of 0 MPa to -1.0 MPa, but decreasing osmotic potential inhibited germination, with no germination at -1.2MPa. After 21 d of low osmotic stress, the seeds that did not germinate after rehydration had not lost their vitality. The seedling emergence percentage was highest (90%) when seeds were buried at 1 cm but declined with increasing burial depth and no emergence at 9 cm. Deep tillage may be effective in limiting the seed germination and emergence of this species. The results of this study provide useful information on the conditions necessary for A. inebrians germination and provide a theoretical basis for science-based prediction, prevention and control of this species.

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