Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2017, 44(2):105-111 | DOI: 10.17221/194/2015-HORTSCI

Germination of Corylopsis seeds evaluated by X-ray imaging and cold stratificationOriginal Paper

Ji Hee Kim¹, Kyung Ok Kim¹, Ae Kyung Lee¹, Mark S. Roh², Jeung Keun Suh^*,1

¹ Department of Environmental Horticulture, Dankook University, Cheonan, Chungnam, Korea

² US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Floral and Nursery Plants Research Unit, Beltsville, USA

Effects of immersing seeds in water and X-ray imagining on germination of Corylopsis seed were investigated. Seeds that sank or floated were collected after immersing in water for 5 min, 4 h or 16 h, and germinated with or without 5°C cold stratification (CS). In C. coreana and C. sinensis var. calvescens, 52% and 89%, respectively, of seeds that sank immediately developed embryos and cotyledons germinated. Germination of C. sinensis var. calvescens seeds that sank after 16 h increased to 45% after the first CS treatment, as compared to 12% without CS. Immersing seeds in water for 16 h to collect full and mostly full seeds is recommended. X-ray imaging coupled with immersion is effective technique to select viable seeds. Dormancy could be partially released by immersing seeds in water for 16 h; however, germination was improved after CS.

Keywords: Corylopsis coreana; Corylopsis sinensis var. calvescens; full seeds; seed dormancy; viable seed

Published: June 30, 2017  Show citation