First report on the germination requirement of Pterygopleurum neurophyllum seeds

Abstract

Pterygopleurum neurophyllum is a class II endangered species and Red list class CR species in Korea. In this study, we considered the effects of cold stratification on embryo development in P. neurophyllum seeds, and analysed the effect of temperature and light conditions, immersion time in 50% H2SO4 and GA3 concentration on subsequent germination. The embryo of P. neurophyllum seeds showed elongation after four weeks of cold stratification (4°C) and embryo length was significantly increased after eight weeks. Germinated seeds were observed after 12 weeks of cold stratification. The cold-stratified (12 weeks) seeds showed the highest germination (23.1%) at 20°C. After 30 minutes H2SO4 immersion, germination of cold-stratified seeds was 29.4%. The GA3 concentration study showed the highest germination for seeds treated with 0.5 g L-1 GA3 (37.2%). The maximum germination across all treatment combinations was 79.8% for seeds given 30 minutes of 50% H2SO4 treatment and 12 weeks of cold stratification and then treated for 24 hours in 0.5 g L-1 GA3.