Effects of cold stratification pretreatment and pH level on germination of Centaurea tchihatcheffii Fisch et Mey. seeds

OKAY F. Y., Gunoz A., Khawar K. M.

AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, cilt.10, sa.9, ss.1545-1549, 2011 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 10 Sayı: 9
  • Basım Tarihi: 2011
  • Dergi Adı: AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1545-1549
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Centaure tchihatcheffii, critically endangered, seed germination, stratification, pH values, BIODIVERSITY
  • Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Centaurea tchihatcheffii Fisch. Et. Mey. is a critically endangered (CR) plant species due to destruction of habitat, strong anthropogenic pressure, biotic and abiotic factors. It grows in limited areas in Golbasi district of Ankara, Turkey and in the world. It is very necessary to conserve it and prevent its extinction. Previous studies emphasise that low germination rate of its seed is primarily due to deep seed dormancy. Therefore, studies was done on C. tchihatcheffii seeds, to investigate the effects of cold stratification for different periods (90, 120 and 150 days) and different pH values (pH 6.5, 7.5 and 8.5) on seed germination. The highest germination percentage (58.89 +/- 6.39%) was observed in seeds stratified for 150 days at all pH values of growing media, followed by seeds stratified for 120 days (42.78 +/- 4.57%). An increase in pH level had negative effects on seed germination, the lowest germination (27.22 +/- 4.18 %) was determined at pH 8.5.