ABSTRACT:The goal of this study was to analyse the quality and dormancy of beechnuts originating from different harvesting sites within large UA and to determine the homogeneity of seed lots from large-scale areas. Currently, European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) accounts for 7.21% of the forested area of this country. Almost 24,000 ha of beech are registered as units of approval (UA) for harvesting of reproductive material. About 40% of these UA are made up of areas of 10 ha consisting of stands with different micro-sites. Beechnut dormancy and thus the chilling requirements for the rate of germination are affected by provenance and weather conditions (precipitation and temperature) during seed maturation. Beechnuts collected from different harvest sites reached significantly different germination and also showed different degrees of dormancy. Results illustrated that beechnut seed lots collected from large areas (a set of different stands) can show high heterogeneity in germination and dormancy and this can significantly affect the uniformity of pre-sowing treatment and emergence in nurseries.
ABstrAct:The effect of ethephon (80, 100 and 120 mg·l -1 ) and gibberellic acid (GA 3 ) (40, 300 and 1,000 mg·l -1 ) on the germination capacity (GC) and mean germination time (MGT) of European beech (Fagus sylvatica [L.]) dormant beechnuts or beechnuts pre-chilled for four weeks was determined. Compared to the control (dormant untreated seeds) or beechnuts treated with tap water no significant increase in mean GC was detected after the application of ethephon or GA 3 to dormant seeds. Conversely, both ethephon and GA 3 treatments reduced (ethephon significantly) GC when applied to beechnuts chilled for four weeks prior to treatment. The effect of the treatments on germination speed (MGT) and dormancy release significantly improved when beechnuts were chilled for four weeks prior to the application of ethephon or GA 3 . However, the effect of GA 3 on MGT of chilled beechnuts was not so distinct compared to dormant untreated seeds. Reduction in MGT was most obvious in seeds hydrated with 1,000 mg·l -1 GA 3 prior to germination.Their cold requirement time was reduced by three weeks compared to beechnuts hydrated in tap water.
Beechnuts from three <I>Fagus sylvatica</I> lots were dried at 20°C to 5–6% or 8–9% (fresh weight basis) moisture content and stored at –7°C or –22°C for 3.5 or 4.5 years in sealed polyethylene bags containing air and routinely used for the long-term storage of beechnuts or vacuumed (de-aerated) polyethylene bags with air removed before sealing. The germination and viability (tetrazolium test) of beechnuts were determined according to the Czech Technical Rules (1997) once a year during storage. The results were subjected to factorial ANOVA and the means were compared using the Scheffe test at <I>P</I> > 0.05. Compared to beechnuts dried to an 8–9% moisture content a significant decrease in both germination and viability occurred in beechnuts dried to a 5–6% moisture content regardless of how long the beechnuts were stored. However, the effects of the other treatments (type of storage bag, storage temperature) were not significant.
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