Seed priming of Prunus scoparia through scarification and chemical treatments

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Department of Agriculture, Technical and Engineering, Velayat University, Iranshahr, I. R. Iran

10.22099/iar.2025.52666.1677

Abstract

This study examined the effects of various pre-germination treatments on Prunus scoparia seeds collected from Zarand City in late summer 2024. The treatments aimed to overcome both mechanical and physiological dormancy. The seed coats were removed, and seeds were disinfected in a 1% sodium hypochlorite solution for 15–20 minutes, followed by rinsing with sterile water. A factorial experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design with three replications. Four factors were evaluated: scarification (control and sulfuric acid for 10 minutes), stratification (control, moist chilling at +4 °C, and dry chilling at −20 °C), potassium nitrate (0%, 1%, and 2% potassium nitrate), and gibberellic acid (0 and 200 ppm gibberellic acid). Primary evaluations of vital indicators such as seed germination and shoot length of plantlets revealed that seed scarification with sulfuric acid, moist chilling at +4 °C, and treatment with 200 ppm gibberellic acid significantly enhanced germination performance. The results indicated that the combination of mechanical scarification, moist chilling, and gibberellic acid treatment effectively overcame dormancy barriers in P. scoparia seeds. This study highlights the importance of tailored pre-germination treatments to improve seed viability and subsequent plant establishment.

Graphical Abstract

Seed priming of Prunus scoparia through scarification and chemical treatments

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Abou Rayya, M. S., Nabila, E. K., Malaka, A. S., & Thanaa Sh, M. (2021). Effect of cold stratification and GA3 on deshelled seeds germination and seedlings growth of bitter almond. Middle East Journal of Agriculture Research, 10(4), 1173-1181.‏ https://doi.org/ 10.36632/mejar/2021.10.4.80
Al-Hadedy, S. H. A., Basheer, S. A., Idrees, M. S., & Al-Taee, K. A. Y. )2024(. Sulfuric acid and hot water treatment effects on the seed germination and growth traits of Sesbania punicea L. SABRAO Journal. Breed. Genet, 56(1), 444-452.‏ http://doi.org/10.54910/sabrao2024.56.1.40
Bassouya, M., Jawhari, F. Z., Lafraxo, S., Chedadi, M., & Bari, A. (2024). Study of the effect of pretreatments on the germination and growth of P. scoparia subsp. atlantica: Investigations for the conservation of an endangered species in Morocco. In: BIO Web of Conferences, (Vol. 115, p. 06001), EDP. Sciences. ‏https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/202411506001
Brahim, M. M., Khéloufi, B., Nouri, T., & Latifa, M. (2019). Restoration of the Steppe ecosystem through agroforestry: A study of the germination and emergence of P. scoparia Desf in the El Bayadh region, Algeria. ‏Livestock Research for Rural Development, 31(9), 196.
Duermeyer, L., Khodapanahi, E., Yan, D., Krapp, A., Rothstein, S. J., & Nambara, E. (2018). Regulation of seed dormancy and germination by nitrate. Seed Science Research, 28(3), 150-157.‏ https://doi.org/10.1017/S096025851800020X
Falah, I. A., Salehi, S. A., & Shahdadneghad, M. (2014). Effect of H2SO4 on seed germination and viability of Canna indica L. ornamental plant. ‏International Journal of Advanced Biological and Biomedical Research,2(1), 223-229.
Gharaghani, A., & Eshghi, S. (2014). Prunus scoparia, a potentially multi-purpose wild almond species in Iran. In: II International Symposium on Wild Relatives of Subtropical and Temperate Fruit and Nut Crops 1074 (pp. 67-72). https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1074.9
Hernández, J. A., Díaz-Vivancos, P., Acosta-Motos, J. R., & Barba-Espín, G. (2021). Potassium nitrate treatment is associated with modulation of seed water uptake, antioxidative metabolism and phytohormone levels of pea seedlings. Seeds, 1(1), 5-15.‏ https://doi.org/10.3390/seeds1010002
Khadivi-Khub, A., & Anjam, K. (2014). Morphological characterization of Prunus scoparia using multivariate analysis. Plant Systematics and Evolution, 300(6), 1361-1372.‏ https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0967-7
Labdelli, A., Adda, A., Bouchenafa, N., Rebiai, A., Zebib, B., & Merah, O. (2019). Study of seed dormancy origins in three Atlas pistachio ecotypes (Pistacia atlantica Desf.). Applied Ecology & Environmental Research, 17(6).13554-13565.‏ https://doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1706_1355513565
Nezami, E., & Gallego, P. P. (2023). History, phylogeny, biodiversity, and new computer-based tools for efficient micropropagation and conservation of pistachio (Pistacia spp.) germplasm. Plants, 12(2), 323.‏ https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12020323
Postma, F. M., & Ågren, J. (2022). Effects of primary seed dormancy on lifetime fitness of Arabidopsis thaliana in the field. Annals of Botany, 129(7), 795-808.‏ https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcac010
Rahemi, A., Taghavi, T., Fatahi, R., Ebadi, A., Hassani, D., Chaparro, J., & Gradziel, T. (2011). Seed germination and seedling establishment of some wild almond species. African Journal of Biotechnology, 10(40), 7780-7786.‏ https://doi.org/10.5897/AJB10.1064
Rouhi, V., Ranjbarfardooei, A., & Van Damme, P. (2005). Effects of gibberellic acid and temperature on germination of Amygdalus scoparia Spech seeds. Options Méditerranéennes, 3, 397-401.‏
Zeinalabedini, M., Majourhat, K., Khayam-Nekoui, M., Hernández, J. A., & Martínez-Gómez, P. (2009). Breaking seed dormancy in long-term stored seeds from Iranian wild almond species. Seed Science and Technology, 37(2), 267-275.‏ https://doi.org/10.15258/sst.2009.37.2.01
Iran Agricultural Research
Volume 44, Issue 2
In Progress
2025
Pages 119-125

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics