An analysis of dormancy and dormancy release in Taxus chinensis var. mairei seeds

Publisher： International Seed Testing Association

ISSN： 1819-5717

Source： Seed Science and Technology, Vol.39, Iss.1, 2011-04, pp. : 29-43

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Abstract

Dormancy and dormancy release were investigated in Taxus chinensis var. mairei seeds. Dormancy was not due to the rigid testa, which was water permeable, but primarily to the presence of germination inhibitory substances in the different parts of the seed, which can inhibit embryo growth and seed germination. An embryo extract had a much stronger inhibitory effect on germination and root growth of Brassica pekinensis seeds compared with those of other parts of T. chinensis var. mairei seeds such as the endosperm and testa. GC-MS analysis revealed that potent inhibitory substances in the embryo were mainly long chain fatty acids. Cold + warm + cold stratification was effective for releasing morphophysiological dormancy of T. chinensis var. mairei seeds caused by the presence of germination inhibitory substances. However, cold + warm + cold stratification combined with concentrated H₂SO₄, scarification and exogenous application of gibberellic acid (GA₃) at 300 mg · l⁻¹ was much more effective than a single or combination of two dormancy release treatments and resulted in the critical E: S ratio required for germination in most seeds.