Germination of Strawberry Seeds

Abstract

The germination of strawberry (Fragaria grandiflora EHRH.) seeds was studied. All 13 varieties tested showed a strong photosensitivity in their seed germination, that is, the germination was much inhibited in the dark. Alternating temperatures of 15° and 30°C much stimulated germination in both light and dark. Among constant temperatures of 15°, 20°, 25° and 30°C, 25°C was the best for germination, followed by 30°C and 20°C, and the low temperature of 15°C was the worst. This indicates that the relatively wide range of constant temperatures between 20°C and 30°C are adequatee to .their.r germination.In about 10 months after harvest, no diminution of dormancy was shown in strawberry seed.Among chemicals tested for stimulating germination, potassium nitrate was the most effective at concentrations of 0.1 and 0.2%. Ethrel and gibberellin were also effective, but their effectivenesses were not so large as potassium nitrate.Thiourea was only slightly effective at much lower concentration of 0.05%. Low temperature treatment was ineffective in the short period of 10 days, but effective in the relatively long period of one month or more, and the longer the treatment period, the larger the stimulative= effect. Scarification of seed coats with concentrated sulphuric acid for two to three minutes was rather effective for stimulation in both light and dark. This indicates that the cause of dormancy of strawberry seeds lies mainly in thei fruit and seed-coat, not in the embryo.Far-red light showed very strong inhibition on the strawberry seed germination . This inhibition was not recovered even by alternating temperatures, but overcome to some extent by low temperature treatment.In this experiment, strawberry seeds were stored well in dry condition of room temperature, or in either dry or open condition at 5°C.

Effects of Scarification with Sulfuric Acid and Matric Priming on Seed Germination of Seed Propagation Type of F1 Hybrid Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.)

“…Nakamura (1972) reported that scarification of the seed coat for 2 to 3 min was effective for germination. Yamakawa et al (1987) reported that scarification for 10 min increased the germination rate of 'Toyonoka', 'Haruyoi', and 'Kurume 47 go' seeds.…”

“…Several chemical treatments have been reported for enhancing strawberry seed germination, including the use of gibberellin, ethrel, thiourea, potassium nitrate, or sulfuric acid (Nakamura, 1972;Thompson, 1969;Yamakawa et al, 1987;Yanagi et al, 2004). Scarification of strawberry seeds with sulfuric acid can also be performed to further enhance the germination performance, compared with the use of other chemical treatments.…”

“…Scarification of strawberry seeds with sulfuric acid can also be performed to further enhance the germination performance, compared with the use of other chemical treatments. Several studies on scarification of strawberry seeds have been carried out, noting differences in the effective time of scarification with concentrated sulfuric acid (El Hamdouni et al, 2001;Nakamura, 1972;Scott and Ink, 1948;Yamakawa et al, 1987). In the present study, the effective scarification time was investigated more precisely.…”

“…(Maruo et al, 2007). Generally, the germination performance of strawberry seeds is very low and non-uniform (Nakamura, 1972;Scott and Ink, 1948;Yanagi et al, 2004), and strawberry germination is usually very slow.…”

The seed coat as a modulator of seed-environment relationships in Fabaceae

“…Genetic factors and environmental conditions during plant growth determine the maximum proportion of hard seeds produced by the plant while genotype controls the rate of natural permeability increase of these seeds (Tinius 1991). Under natural conditions this happens as a consequence of effects exerted upon these structures by temperature and humidity fluctuations (Argel & Paton 1999), constant high temperatures (Nakamura 1962), fire (Dell 1980), attacks of microorganisms and organic acids and ingestion by animals (Mayer & Poljakoff-Mayber 1975). Large variation in threshold temperature and dormancy breakdown rates among seed lots of same legume cultivars or accessions, and among tropical legume species has been reported (McDonald 2000).…”