Embryo development and seedling emergence of Sternbergia colchiciflora Waldst. et Kit. in an ex situ experiment
Abstract
The polycarpic herbaceous perennial Sternbergia colchiciflora Waldst. et Kit. (Amaryllidaceae) is a dry grassland plant species with endangered status throughout its range. Yet, its life history and reproductive biology are poorly understood. In an ex situ experiment conducted between 2020 and 2023, we studied the germination capacity of the species with the aim of selecting the most appropriate treatment to enhance seed emergence. Seeds were sown partly by imitating natural conditions and partly after applying different treatments. In addition, we also monitored the dynamics of embryo development in the months right after seed dispersal.
Thousand seed weight was determined twice before the experiments and was found to be 5.60 (2021) and 5.84 g (2022), in good agreement with literature data. Moderate success was observed in the sowing experiments, with emergence rates ranging from 0 to 37.5% depending on the treatment. For seeds sown after dry storage and with no experimental treatment and kept outside gave different results in different years: seeds collected in 2020 and 2021 and sown in the autumn of 2021 started to emerge only after one and a half years, while seeds sown immediately after ripening in 2022, emerged the following year. For treated seeds, scarification reduced the time needed for emergence. The shortest time until emergence was 10 weeks after sowing (for scarified seeds). Although the emergence rate of seeds sown right after harvesting at maturity and without any treatment was better than any other treatments, the emergence rate was still considerably low.
Our experiment designed to study embryo development showed no significant effect of scarification on embryo growth at this stage of development. Embryo growth was slow but nearly steady (the originally 1.21 mm average embryo length grew to 2.08 mm by the end of the experiment – which was 48.8 and 72.8% of the length of seeds, respectively) during the study period (June – end of October), but none of the seeds did reach the germination stage. Based on the embryo growth test and the emergence rates of seeds subjected to the different treatments, Sternbergia colchiciflora most likely has seeds with morphophysiological
type of dormancy. Using more suitable methods for germination and examining the survival rate of seedlings are the focal points of the continuation of this experiment.
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Világháló hivatkozás
http1 – Society for Ecological Restoration, International Network for Seed Based Restoration and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID). https://ser-sid.org/ (hozzáférés: 2023.10.12.)
