Effect of Cold Stratification and Gibberellin Treatment on Androsace septentrionalis L. Seed Germination

Effect of Cold Stratification and Gibberellin Treatment on Androsace septentrionalis L. Seed Germination

Androsace septentrionalis is a grass species restricted to North Korea; however, it is at the brink of extinction due to habitat loss and environmental changes caused by natural disasters and anthropogenic activities. This study was conducted to characterize the dormancy conditions of A. septentrionalis in an effort to conserve this North Korean plant resource. For this purpose, the morphological characteristics and vigor of A. septentrionalis seeds were examined, and its germination characteristics under different temperature conditions (15/6℃ and 25/15℃), low-temperature stratification, and gibberellin (GA3) treatment were determined. The results revealed that A. septentrionalis exhibits non-deep type morpho-physiological dormancy, and low-temperature stratification treatment was not effective in breaking the dormancy of A. septentrionalis seeds. Meanwhile, GA3 treatment significantly increased the mean germination time, rate, and speed of the seeds. The optimal conditions for the germination of A. septentrionalis seeds were 25/15℃ fluctuating temperature and 500 ㎎·L-1 GA3 treatment. The results of this study are useful for the mass propagation of A. septentrionalis.