Seed Viability Changes during Fruit Ripening of Juniperus polycarpos : Implications for Seed Collection

Document Type : Regular issue (Original Article)

Authors

1 Faculty of Natural Resources, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahid Sattari Highway, Tehran, Iran P.O Box 14515-775

2 Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Chamran Blvd. Karaj, Alborz, Iran, P.O Box 31585-4314

Abstract

JUNIPERUS polycarpos is a keystone species found in arid zones in the Middle East, especially in Iran. Although studies have researched how to increase the germination capacity of this species through seed treatments, other methods to increase seed germination capacity have not been investigated. In this study, we considered the effects that seed collection time had on the germination parameters of J. polycarpos. The germination parameters were calculated for each treatment, which was replicated 4 times with 100 seeds per replicate. The results showed that all germination parameters were affected by a high degree of infestation, which increased significantly from 10% in August (unripe cones) to 39% in November (ripe cones). Seed infestation caused the seed viability, germination capacity, and germination value of the seeds to decrease by 67%, 78%, and 95%, respectively. The decrease in germination capacity could have also resulted from the probable high amount of abscisic acid in mature cones. Therefore, collecting cones four months earlier than the maturation time may be a more cost effective method for the artificial regeneration of forests and the seedling production of J. polycarpos. Early collection time combined with the best introduced treatment methods can significantly improve the germination of J. polycarpos seeds. This will be useful for artificial regeneration practices in endangered and genetically unique stands of J. polycarpos

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