Germination and Vitality of Birch Seeds

Abstract

Introduction In a recent paper, WEISS (13) has given his results with experiments on temperature and medium requirements for the germination of fresh and after-ripened seeds of Betula populifolia. He finds that the germination of B. populifolia is greatly improved when the seeds are stored in moist granulated peat at low temperature for about two months; that io0 C. is as effective as 50 C. or o6 C. for this purpose; that germination percentage is increased by a treatment with an organic mercury disinfectant previous to stratification; and that such after-ripening at low temperatures results in a marked downward shift in the minimum temperature required for germination. In the work reported in this paper, the writer has extended studies of the same type to other species of Betula, and has also tried to determine whether seeds of the same species vary in their behavior when collected at different times of the season and when kept in different conditions of storage for a year or more.