Seed Germination as Assessment for “ex situ” Conservation of Diplotaxis sp

Abstract

The effective seed storage methods provide a unique opportunity to preserve large amount of germplasm. Evaluation of the physiological status of the seeds before and after the storage is required for better selection of the methods and lots of seeds for conservation. To evaluate the status of the seeds, 26 accessions of different species were evaluated in two consecutive years. Four replicates of 50 seeds of each population were induced to germinate in 2010 and three replicates of 50 sees in 2011. A 2 × 2x2 factorial experiment investigated the interactive effects of accession, culture medium and year at a temperature >20OC. The germination and the Germination Velocity Index were evaluated. The results showed that there was no loss of viability before and after storage but some of the accessions had germination percentage under 50%. This happened mainly to the seeds gathered from the wild and to one commercial variety in 2010. In 2011 all accessions showed good germination with better results on agar than on filter paper. Seeds of Diplotaxis sp possess orthodox storage behavior and therefore they are suited for ex situ conservation in seed banks.