Effects of osmotic priming on germination of calabrian pine (Pinus brutaia ten.) seeds

Abstract

Effects of osmotic priming on the germination percent and germination value of calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) seeds were investigated. Investi¬gation was performed on two main seed groups, one of which was only primed and the other was primed after stratification. Seeds were primed for 5 and 10 days in PEG 6000 solutions at osmotic potentials of 0 bar, -7.5 bar, -15 bar and -22.5 bar. Germination tests were performed at constant 15 °C and 25 °C. Although it was shown that osmotic priming improve both germination percent and value of calabrian pine seeds, none of the priming treatments could reach to the performance of stratified seeds.