Removal of the epi- and mesocarp from the semi-mature fruit of Peumus boldus and not the use of gibberellic acid promotes the highest seed germination

Abstract

Because of climate change, wildfire events have increased in the semi-arid ecosystems of the world. In this context, it is necessary to count with efficient tools for the rehabilitation or restoration of those systems. Plant propagation is crucial to obtain plants for rehabilitation programs, and it becomes a limiting factor in the success of those initiatives. For this, it is necessary to know how relevant factors affect seed germination in plants of interest. Peumus boldus is a dominant plant species of the Mediterranean area of Chile that has been severely affected by wildfire events. Consequently, in this investigation, the joint effect of pre-germination treatments such as epicarp and mesocarp removal with the use of gibberellic acid on the germination of semimature fruits of P. boldus was studied. The results show that only the removal of the epicarp and the mesocarp had a significant effect on seed germination, reaching a proportion of 51.4%, which is the highest value reported so far in a published study with a controlled setting for P. boldus. Therefore, to obtain a high proportion of P. boldus plantlets for use in rehabilitation programs; seeds should be collected in December and exposed to the pre-germination treatment of pericarp and mesocarp removal without using gibberellic acid in doses lower than or equal to 10 g L -1 .