Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Candidate, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch

2 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran

3 Faculty member of Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands of Iran

4 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch

5 Faculty member of Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch

Abstract

This research was carried out to evaluate the germination response of eleven Salvia species to application of Gibberellic acid (GA3) and pre-chilling treatments in the Iran Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands during 2012. Germination responses of the seeds were investigated under control treatment, 2-levels of Gibberellic acid (GA3) treatments with 500 mg/L (for 24 and 48 hours) and 2-levels of pre-chilling treatments at 4°C (for 2 and 4 weeks). The germination percentage and rate, as the physiological traits of the species, were studied based on a completely randomized design with four replications. Based on the results, applying the Gibberellic acid (GA3) treatment for 24 hours increased both the germination percentages and rates as compared to control; but the treatment for 48 hours was insignificantly changed the two mentioned parameters comparing to control. On the other hand, the pre-chilling treatment of seeds for 2 weeks also caused a significant increase in the above parameters as compared to the control treatment; while they were insignificantly different from the control treatment by the use of pre-chilling treatment for 4 weeks.

Keywords

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