GERMINATION OF PLUM SEEDS

Several factors are important concerning germination of plum seeds, and one of the most critical ones is the control of humidity.
In the reported experiments, a certain loss of germination capacity was found after drying of seeds followed by water-saturation of embryos and stratification.
An experiment with different stratification media illustrated that a mixture of sand and Perlite (ratio 1:1) gave the highest germination percent, while the organic medium “Moder jord” gave the poorest germination.
A 4-week period of 20°C preceding 3 months stratification gave higher germination than no such warm period.
Cracking stones followed by a removal of the seed coat and sowing of embryos directly after harvest gave the highest percentage of germination.
This procedure, however, gave a high loss of seedlings due to dormancy and poor seedling growth.
We observed the highest germination of stones when seeds were kept in plastic containers during stratification compared to plastic bags.
The percentage of germination ranged from 0 to 85% in the experiments, and clearly demonstrates the importance of a defined protocol.

VIII International Symposium on Plum and Prune Genetics, Breeding and Pomology

S.H. Hjeltnes, L. Nornes

plum, Prunus domestica, seed germination, stratification, medium

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2007.734.8