Abstract
The germination response of three Calligonum species (C. azel Maire, C. arich Le Houérou et C. comosum L’Hérit.) to mechanical, physical and chemical scarifications, applied for overcoming dormancy, has been studied under controlled conditions. The above-mentionned speceis are three dominant and economically important species widely distributed in active sand dunes in the Eastern Great Erg of Tunisia. In all three Calligonum species, the germination of the untreated (control) seeds was relatively low, indicating the presence of coat-imposed dormancy in a fraction of the studied seeds. Chemical scarification with sulphuric acid (96%) was effective in breaking seed dormancy and consequently in increasing the rate and the final percentage of germination. However, treatments with sulphuric acid above 20 min significantly decreased the amount of dead seeds. Compared to other pretreatments, the 20-30 min acid treatments for C. azel and C. arich and boiling water or 30 min acid treatment for C. comosum decreased the number of days to first germination by 2-6 days. Overall, this study demonstrated that physical dormancy caused by impermeable seed-coat appeared to be the main reason of the low germination level of the untreated seeds. The 30-min sulphuric acid (96%) treatment was the most suitable in breaking the seed dormancy and enhancing the germination of Calligonum species.
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