EFFECT OF ACCELERATED AGEING ON GERMINATION IN CAPER (CAPPARIS SPINOSA L.) SEEDS

Abstract

This study was designed to analyze the effects, over two consecutive years (2006-2007), of accelerated ageing (AA) on the germination of caper (Capparis spinosa L.) seeds of cultivar 'Comun'. Seeds were aged for 24, 48, 72 or 96 h at 45°C. The effects of ageing were evaluated via standard germination tests, performed in closed Petri dishes in a growth chamber. Germination data were fitted to the logistic function, and calculations were made for the maximum germination percentage (A), the time to reach 50% of final germination (β/k) and the mean relative cumulative rate (k/2). The results show that AA improved germination, especially in terms of significantly higher A values (higher than 90%) compared to non-aged seeds (53% on average), and lower β/k (lower than 68 days) than non-aged seeds (89 days on average), while k/2 was not significantly affected. Neither A nor k/2 were affected by ageing time; however, β/k significantly decreased with ageing time from 24 to 96 h, following a negative linear pattern. Year did not affect significantly any of the studied germination parameters.