Dormancy-breaking treatments for enhancing seed germination in plant Kitaibela vitifolia Willd.

english

2023

volume 119, issue 1

climate chamber   greenhouse   habitat restoration   plant protection   seedling growth

Univerza v Ljubljani, Biotehniška fakulteta
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Vine-leaved kitaibelia (Kitaibela vitifoliaWilld.), also known as balkanmalva or chalice flower, is a criti-cally endangered plant species with a high risk of extinction in the wild. A reason given for this is, among others, a low germi-nation rate primarily caused by dormancy. The present study evaluated the seed germination and seedling growth param-eters of vine-leaved kitaibelia in response to eight different pre-sowing treatments. The final germination percentage ranged from 0 % to 55 %, depending on the pre-sowing treatment. The most effective method for breaking dormancy and increasing vine-leaved kitaibelia seed germination was the treatment with seeds soaked in H2SO4 for 5 min. The mechanical scarification of vine-leaved kitaibelia seeds also improved germination as compared to control treatment, while treatments with nitric acid and gibberellic acid were not effective in enhancing seed germination. All evaluated seedling growth parameters were not affected by pre-sowing treatments. Considering that suc-cessful germination and seedling establishment are crucial for the regeneration of vine-leaved kitaibelia further studies are required in order to identify other pre-sowing treatments that could further enhance seed germination and, consequently, seedling development.

13.10.2023