Effect of pretreatment of cold stratification on seed germination characteristics and early growth of Small-fruited cherry seedlings

Document Type : Complete scientific research article

Authors

1 rdabil Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, Ardabil, Iran

2 Ardabil Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ardabil, I.R. Iran

3 Assist., Prof., Medicinal Plants and By-products Research Division, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

4 Medicinal Plants and By-products Research Division, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

5 Associate professor., Prof., Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

10.22069/jwfst.2024.22691.2071

Abstract

Extended Abstract
Introduction and Objective: Small- fruited cherry (Prunus microcarpa C.A.M.) from Rosaceae family is one of the valuable species of semi-arid forests of Irano-Turanian region and has many ecological functions in these regions. In recent decades, the change of land use, livestock grazing, fire and its fruit harvesting have destroyed the habitats of this species. Therefore, for restorating of habitats of this species through afforestation and suitable production of its seedlings is very important. Since Small- fruited cherry seeds have a low germination rate due to the difficult germination conditions in nature, this present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the ways of breaking seed dormancy and determining the seed germination traits of this species.

Material and Methods: At the end of August 2022, ripen Small- fruited cherry fruits were collected from 10 healthy shrubs with the same traits in terms of diameter and height, located in Kandrag, 35 km from Khalkhal city. Then, the seeds with shell and without endocarp were placed in moist sand and in the refrigerator (5°C ± 1) for 0, 3, 4 and 5 months in four replicates of 50 in pre-treatment of cold stratification conditions. After the stratification periods, the seeds were placed in the growth chamber with a relative humidity of 65% and a temperature of 25±1°C. Seed germination was recorded daily for 60 days. The seeds that germinated and came out of the planting bed (sterilized sand) were considered as germinated seeds. At the end of the experiment period, germination percent, germination rate, early growth of seedlings and vigor index was determined. The expriment was done as a factorial in a completely randomized design.

Results: The results of data analysis indicated that the interaction of cold stratification × with and without endocarp on all germination traits of Small-fruited cherry seeds is significant at the level of 1 and 5%. Basically, under natural conditions (without pretreatment of cold stratification) seeds did not germinate in two states with and without endocarp. The germination period lasted 25 days and the seeds without endocarp along with five months of cold stratification had a faster germination process compared to other treatments. The highest germination (50.50 %), germination speed (1.58 n/d), root length (2.85 cm), stem length (3.54 cm) and vigor index (324.3) belonged to the seeds without endocarp that were stratified for five months. Of course, seeds with endocarp and with five months’ cold period also had an acceptable germination percentage (38%) and vigor index (241.5).
Conclusion: In general, with the increase of the stratification period, both in the state with and without endocarp, all investigated traits increased. From the findings of this study, it can be concluded that although the germination traits are more in seeds without endocarp. However, due to the time-consuming and costly operation of endocarp removal and, in other words, the difficulty of implementing it in nursery conditions, it is suggested to use seeds with endocarp and five-month pretreatment of cold stratification treatment for the mass production of seedling.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Wood and Forest Science and Technology
Volume 31, Issue 2
June 2024
Pages 131-147

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