Depth of dormancy and desiccation tolerance in Acer trautvetteri Medv. seeds

This first exploratory study on the seed physiology of Acer trautvetteri, a broadleaved tree found in Caucasia and northern Turkey, demonstrated that A. trautvetteri seeds exhibit physiological dormancy and require about 3 months of chilling for complete dormancy loss. | Turk J Agric For 31 (2007) 201-205 © TÜB‹TAK Depth of Dormancy and Desiccation Tolerance in Acer trautvetteri Medv. Seeds Mustafa YILMAZ Kahramanmarafl Sütçü ‹mam University Faculty of Forestry, Department of Silviculture, 46100 Kahramanmarafl - TURKEY Received: Abstract: This first exploratory study on the seed physiology of Acer trautvetteri, a broadleaved tree found in Caucasia and northern Turkey, demonstrated that A. trautvetteri seeds exhibit physiological dormancy and require about 3 months of chilling for complete dormancy loss. Germination percentages significantly increased with the chilling duration and were , , and after 1, 2, and 3 months of chilling, respectively. Moreover, while the seeds can be safely dried to at least 10% moisture content, reducing the moisture content to 3% killed all the seeds. Acer species exhibit different seed characteristics in terms of seed dormancy existence and desiccation sensitivity. This research showed that A. trautvetteri is one of the Acer species the seeds of which have seed dormancy and are desiccation tolerant. Key Words: Acer trautvetteri, seed physiology, dormancy, chilling Acer trautvetteri Medv.’nin Tohumlar›nda Dormansinin Derinli¤i ve Kurumaya Karfl› Duyarl›l›k Özet: Acer trautvetteri Türkiye ve Kafkasya’da yay›l›fl gösteren do¤al yaprakl› a¤aç türlerinden biridir. Türün tohum fizyolojisi üzerine yap›lan bu ilk çal›flma göstermifltir ki türün tohumunda fizyolojik dormansi bulunmakta ve dormansinin giderilebilmesi için yaklafl›k üç ay katlamaya al›nmas› gerekmektedir. Çimlenme yüzdesi, katlama süresine ba¤l› olarak önemli oranda artm›flt›r. Bir, iki ve üç ay so¤uk ifllemden sonra çimlenme yüzdeleri s›ras›yla % , % , ve % olarak gerçekleflmifltir. Tohum en az % 10 neme kadar güvenle kurutulabilmektedir. Tohumun nem içeri¤i % 3’e indi¤inde bütün tohumlar canl›l›¤›n› kaybetmifltir. Akçaa¤aç türleri tohum dormansisinin varl›¤› ve kurumaya karfl› duyarl›l›k bak›m›ndan .