Revegetation of disturbed land, particularly in arid environment, is often hindered by low seedling establishment. Information on seed biology and germination cues of valuable species is lacking. We investigated seed ...Revegetation of disturbed land, particularly in arid environment, is often hindered by low seedling establishment. Information on seed biology and germination cues of valuable species is lacking. We investigated seed germination of two Acacia species （Acacia tortilis （Forsk.） Hayne and Acacia oerfota （Forssk） schwein/）, required for nitrogen fixation and rehabilitation of arid and semi-arid areas.（four pregermination seed treatments were applied in order to find the best treatment in germinating acacia species. The medium was L2 and three replicates were used. Seeds pretreated with sand paper and also with H2SO4 and then H2O2 had the highest germination percentage in both species. The lowest germination percentage resulted from soaking seeds in water for 48 h followed by soaking in H2SO4 for A. oerfota and from soaking in water for 24 h for A. tortilis. Because the use of sand paper is difficult and time consuming, we recommend pretreatment ofA. tortilis and A. oerfota seeds with H2SO4 and H2O2 before planting. Our study results are significant for conservation agencies with an interest in optimizing germination in arid zones for rehabilitation and reforestation.展开更多
文摘Revegetation of disturbed land, particularly in arid environment, is often hindered by low seedling establishment. Information on seed biology and germination cues of valuable species is lacking. We investigated seed germination of two Acacia species （Acacia tortilis （Forsk.） Hayne and Acacia oerfota （Forssk） schwein/）, required for nitrogen fixation and rehabilitation of arid and semi-arid areas.（four pregermination seed treatments were applied in order to find the best treatment in germinating acacia species. The medium was L2 and three replicates were used. Seeds pretreated with sand paper and also with H2SO4 and then H2O2 had the highest germination percentage in both species. The lowest germination percentage resulted from soaking seeds in water for 48 h followed by soaking in H2SO4 for A. oerfota and from soaking in water for 24 h for A. tortilis. Because the use of sand paper is difficult and time consuming, we recommend pretreatment ofA. tortilis and A. oerfota seeds with H2SO4 and H2O2 before planting. Our study results are significant for conservation agencies with an interest in optimizing germination in arid zones for rehabilitation and reforestation.
