ISHS Acta Horticulturae 810: IX International Vaccinium Symposium
EFFECTS OF STRATIFICATION AND COLD STORAGE ON SEED GERMINATION CHARACTERISTICS OF DWARF HUCKLEBERRY |
| Authors: | D.L. Barney, O.A. Lopez, B. Shafii, W.J. Price |
| Keywords: | Vaccinium cespitosum, dwarf blueberry, dwarf bilberry, dwarf whortleberry, logistic regression, drying |
| Abstract:
This project characterized dwarf huckleberry (Vaccinium cespitosum Michaux) seed germination. Fresh seed and seed air dried for 7 days and stored for 0, 6 or 30 months at 2 to 4°C were germinated at 28/13°C or 20/13°C day/night temperatures. Unstored fresh and dried seed were stratified at 2 to 4°C for 0, 14, 28, or 42 days before sowing under the same protocols. Stored seed were sown with and without visual sorting to remove undersized and broken seeds. The germination data were modeled separately using nonlinear regression to predict maximum cumulative germination, lag times, and germination rates. Drying the seed significantly increased germination percentages after 56 days compared with fresh seed for the 28/13°C, but not the 20/13°C protocol. Stratification of unstored fresh or dried seed did not significantly affect germination percentages under either protocol. Estimated total germination percentages were greater for seed stored for 6 or 30 months (90% and 86%) than for fresh seed (77%), and unstored dried seed (81%) for the 20/13°C protocol. Visually sorting seed increased germination percentages by approximately 30%. | |
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