Response of Summer savory seeds to gamma irradiation at germination and seedling stages

Germination is the first and most important stage in the life cycle of the plants. In this study the effect of different doses of gamma radiation (۰, ۱۵, ۳۰, ۶۰ and ۹۰ Gray) was investigated on some seed germination factors and morphological characteristics of the seedlings of summer savory (Satureja hortensis). Seed irradiation was performed at the Nuclear Agriculture Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRI), Karaj, Iran, using Gamma- Cell Facility Issledovatelj- PX-۳۰ device. In this regards, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with ۴ replications. Results showed that ۹۰ Gray treatment increased the germination percentage and reduced seed vigour significantly. Although the length of stem-lets showed a significant decrease in ۹۰ Gray treatment (۳.۹ cm), the highest dry weight of seedlings was also observed in this treatment (۰.۵۵ mg). The treatments showed no significant difference on the other characters of germination including germination speed, average time of germination and length of the root-lets. The final results revealed that application of ۹۰ Gray dose of γ irradiation could be useful in enhancing germination percentage of seeds and dry weight of Summer savory seedlings.

کلیدواژه ها:

γ irradiation treatment ، medicinal plant ، dry weight of seedling