Effects of sulphuric acid and salt stress on germination of Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46325/afj.v9i2.209Keywords:
Germination, pre-treatment, sulphuric acid, salt stress, Ceratonia siliqua L.Abstract
The study was conducted to determine the efficiency of sulphuric scarification for 0, 5, 10 and 20 min on germination of carob and to investigate its germination performance under various NaCl stresses at 0, 85.5, 171.1, 256.6 and 342.2 mM. Percentage germination (G %) and mean germination time (MGT) were evaluated.
The results showed that carob tree suffered from hard seeds due to impermeable seed coat and germination rates were 37.5% (control). The beneficial effect of chemical scarification was determined and it caused a remarkable increase in germination. The highest germination percentages (96.25%) were obtained from application of H2SO4 for 5 min.
Germination percentage gradually decreased with the increase of concentration of salt. Up to 85.5 mM concentration was found safe for C. siliqua seed germination. Beyond this concentration the germination percentage was poor at 256.6 mM and significantly inhibited at 342.2 mM NaCl.
Keywords: Germination, pre-treatment, sulphuric acid, salt stress, Ceratonia siliqua L.
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