ISHS Acta Horticulturae 454: III International Symposium on New Floricultural Crops
IMPROVEMENT OF GERMINATION OF VITEX AGNUS CASTUS L. SEEDS WITH SEED PRE-TREATMENTS |
| Authors: | S. Belhadj, D. Gerasopoulos, E. Maloupa |
| Keywords: | Ornamental wild species, Mediterranean, Verbenaceae, propagation, germination, pre-treatment |
| Abstract:
To investigate the germination ability of Vitex agnus castus L. seeds, pre-treatments with sulfuric acid (for 60–120 min), chilling (for 2 weeks at 5°C) and soaking in water or 400 ppm GA3 (for 6–10 hrs) were applied, followed by incubation at 20°C (for 2 weeks) and transfer to 30°C (for 1 week), 90% RH and natural light cycling. Seeds incubated at 20°C or 30°C without any pretreatment failed to germinate. Seeds scarified with sulfuric acid for 30 to 60 min followed by incubation at 20°C showed little germination. However, upon transfer to 30°C, germination increased to 90–100%. Seeds pre-treated for 8–10 hrs with 400 ppm GA3 showed about 20% germination during incubation at 20°C. Upon transfer to 30°C, germination of chilled seeds increased to 60%, and of water and GA3-soaked seeds to about 80–90%. These results indicate that V. agnus castus L. seeds show seed coat and endosperm dormancy. | |
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