Germination of seeds of Dianthus plumarius L. (Caryophyllaceae Juss.) after storage period of 43 and 44 years

Abstract

The seed germination tests of long-term (1978- and 1979-year harvest) storage seeds of Dianthus plumarius were carried out. The seeds were stored in a cold chamber (0-5 °C) for 43- and 44-year period, respectively, in the hermetically sealed glass containers. The experiment was conducted in laboratory conditions, on filter-paper, in three consequent stages: initial screening (Sept/Oct. 2022, sample 1978); 6 seed samples of 100 seeds each: 3 samples from 1978 and 3 samples from 1979 year (Oct/Nov. 2022) and 12 x 100 seeds with the highest germination taken from the previous experimental batch (Nov/Dec.2022). The temperature and air humidity were monitored daily by an Electronic Temperature station. The results from trials Oct./Nov.2022 showed that the highest germination energy (GE) was found in the seed sample from 1978 (65%) while the GE varied between 42 and 46% in the samples of the 1979’ harvest. The maximum percentage of germination, in almost all experimental samples, was achieved on the 14th day and until the end of the experiment remained unchanged. The highest percentage of germination was found in sample from 1978 year - 82%. A statistically significant difference was observed between samples from 1978 and the two samples from 1979 (p≤0.05, ANOVA). The germination process took place at relatively low temperatures and at a relatively small day-night amplitude. The two consecutive experiments confirmed the fact that the seed samples from 1978 year showed a higher germination energy, which could be explained by a higher water content in the seeds which were initially placed in cold storage and were preserved during the storage conditions for the specified long-term period. The high germination rates observed in the present experiment encourages further investigations.