Effect of pre-sowing treatments on seed germination in Quercus glauca Thunb., collected from different sampling sites of the Himalayan region of Pakistan

Abstract

This paper deals with the seed germination treatments of Quercus glauca Thunb., a member of the family Fagaceae a critically endangered species from the Himalayan region of Pakistan. Seeds of the species were collected from Mansehra, Batagram and Muzaffarabad Districts in November, 2013. Mature and ripened seeds were collected in suitable season from the selected sampling sites in polythene bags. Some of these collected seeds were scarified while others were subjected to stratification treatment only. Stratified treatments were given to the seeds for 10, 15 and 20 days in the laboratory. Others were scarified with knife and forceps. In stratified seeds, maximum germination rate i.e. 95.45% were observed in seeds collected from Batagram District while the lowest rate was observed in seeds collected from Mansehra District. Like-wise, for scarified treatment, maximum germination rate i.e. 100% was obtained in seeds collected from Batagram and Mansehra districts while in Muzaffarabad District lowest rate of germination i.e. 83% was observed. Scarified treatments proved to be more effective for this species as compared to stratified treatments. Therefore, these methods should be followed for the seed germination practices of these species and regeneration on larger scale.