Effects of different mechanical treatments on Quercus variabilis, Q. wutaishanica and Q. robur acorn germination

doi:10.3832/ifor1423-008

Effects of different mechanical treatments on Quercus variabilis, Q. wutaishanica and Q. robur acorn germination

Yan Liu⁽¹⁾, Longyu Hou⁽²⁾, Qingmei Li⁽¹⁾

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 8, Issue 6, Pages 728-734 (2015)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor1423-008
Published: May 05, 2015 - Copyright © 2015 SISEF

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Delayed and uneven germination of acorns has a negative effect on seedling quality and yield in seedlings. To address this issue, the effects of different mechanical treatments were studied, including a control (CK), removal of cup scar (RS), removal of pericarp (RP), removal of pericarp and 1/2 of the cotyledon (HC) and removal of pericarp and 2/3 cotyledon (TC), on the germination of Quercus variabilis, Q. wutaishanica and Q. robur acorns and pericarp thickness. The results showed that (1) RP and HC treatments significantly decreased root and shoot mean germination time, increased rooting and shooting germination percentage, and improved the root and shoot synchronization and vigor indexes of the three species’ acorns; (2) the acorns from the TC treatment significantly reduced root and shoot mean germination time and significantly induced the root and shoot synchronization index for all three species; and (3) the RS treatment significantly reduced the root and shoot mean germination time of the three species. Therefore, RP and HC treatments can effectively accelerate germination and regular seedling, which are important in the propagation of Q. variabilis, Q. wutaishanica and Q. robur seedlings. Even and quick germination help reduce acorn predation.

Keywords

Pericarp and Cotyledon Excision, Pericarp Thickness, Acorn Germination, Quercus wutaishanica

Authors’ address

(1)

State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091 (China)

(2)

Grassland Science Department, Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 (China)

Corresponding author

Qingmei Li
liqm99@163.com

Citation

Liu Y, Hou L, Li Q (2015). Effects of different mechanical treatments on Quercus variabilis, Q. wutaishanica and Q. robur acorn germination. iForest 8: 728-734. - doi: 10.3832/ifor1423-008

Academic Editor

Gianfranco Minotta

Paper history

Received: Aug 06, 2014
Accepted: Jan 23, 2015

First online: May 05, 2015
Publication Date: Dec 01, 2015
Publication Time: 3.40 months

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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