Effects of environmental and storage conditions on the germination of Allium species

Abstract

In this study, we assessed the germination responses of Allium flavum var minus, Alliuin guttatum subsp guttatum, and Allium olympicum seeds to various treatments. Moist chilling, room and soil storage, GA(3) treatment and scarification were tested at three different temperatures (20/10, 15/10, 25/15 degrees C), four different durations (0, 3, 6 and 9 months) and under two light regimes (photoperiod/darkness) to assess the rates of breaking dormancy. All three Allium species reached the highest germination percentages after moist chilling. A. guttatum reached the highest germination after 9 months of moist chilling (80.00 %), 9 months of room storage (22.25 %) and 6 months of soil storage (54.75 %). A. guttatum, compared to the other species, also responded best to GA3 and scarification. A. flavum was best germinated after moist chilling for 9 months (78.00 %), germinated at a rate of 20.00 % after 3 months of room storage, and exhibited lower germination than the control with soil storage. A. guttatum and A. flavum germinated after scarification at rates of 27.00 % and 24.00 %, but scarification was not successful on A. olympicum. A. olympicum responded only to moist chilling, and the other treatments were not successful at breaking the dormancy of this species. We suggest that all three species have physiological dormancy that may be exhibited at different levels.