IMPROVEMENT OF SEED GERMINATION IN APPLE BREEDING

E. Pitera, S. Odziemkowski, B. Dabrowska
A new method of after-ripening of apple seeds, adapted to the production of seedlings in an unheated plastic tunnel has been developed. It enables the successful germination of a very high percentage of seedlings in a short time after stratification treatment. The method consists of individual stratification of fresh seeds in multipots containing moist sphagnum peat, supplemented with mineral nutrients, for about 40-50 days at 2-3°C, and then transferring them to an unheated plastic tunnel, at the beginning of April, i.e. after winter frost. Seeds are extracted from fruits stored at 2-3°C. The seeds tested originated from 11 controlled cross combinations, made in 2001 and 2002, and differed in the length of seed dormancy.
Pitera, E., Odziemkowski, S. and Dabrowska, B. (2004). IMPROVEMENT OF SEED GERMINATION IN APPLE BREEDING. Acta Hortic. 663, 783-788
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.663.141
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.663.141
Malus x domestica, breeding, after-ripening, dormancy, germination-test
English

Acta Horticulturae