The Effect of Different Hormonal and Physical Treatments on Germination of Sophora Seeds (Sophora alopecuroides L.)

Introduction: The genus Fabaceae has seed dormancy, which is an evolutionary adaptation that prevents seed germination in adverse ecological conditions and is of great importance in preserving plant species. Sophora, belonging to the Fabaceae family, is a perennial plant whose active components have a wide range of medicinal activities such as anti-cancer and etc. The study of the chemical composition of sophora (methanolic root extract) showed the presence of quinolizidine alkaloids, flavonoids and steroidal glucosides, which can be prospects for the development of new drugs for cancer and some chronic diseases. All of these factors place sophora in a special place among different alkaloidal plants. Considering the low germination power, the first step to domesticate this plant is to strengthen its seed germination. Materials and methods: In order to investigate the effect of some hormonal, physical and mechanical treatments on seed dormancy, seed germination and the characteristics of the shoot and root, the sophora was first collected from the natural habitat of Kerman province (Shahrbabak area, Raviz district). The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. In order to break seed dormancy, mechanical (sulfuric acid), hormonal (gibberellic acid) and physical (boiling water and wet cooling) treatments were used. After disinfecting the seeds, ۳۰ seeds were placed in each Petri dish. After applying each treatment, the seeds were placed in the growth chamber for ۱۵ days with light conditions of ۱۶ hours of light and ۸ hours of darkness and a temperature of ۲۵ degrees Celsius. Checking and counting the number of germinated seeds was done daily from the day after planting. Seeds were considered germinated when the radicle length was more than ۲ mm. After the specified period of time (۱۵ days), shoot length, radicle length, dry and wet weight of shoot and dry and wet weight of radicle were measured. Results and Discussion: The results of the test conducted on sophora seeds showed that compared to very low germination of untreated seeds (۰-۵۳% germination), sulfuric acid (۷۳-۹۵.۵%) and soaking in hot water (۵۲-۹۳%) on seed germination. bitter plant were effective. The experiment indicated that sulfuric acid treatment had a significant effect on the germination percentage and germination with the application of ۷۵% concentration of sulfuric acid for ۱۵ minutes at room temperature improved the germination percentage and the initial growth of seedlings. The observed process of germination in the treatment with hot water did not show a significant superiority in general compared to the pre-treatment with sulfuric acid, but it was significant compared to the control sample. Therefore, it seems that considering that the removal of the physical layer and chemical substances of the seed coat by pretreatment with sulfuric acid led to the improvement of germination, the seed dormancy of this plant is of mechanical type and shell hardness. Also, since the initial growth and seedling index are among the most important indicators for the rapid and uniform establishment of the plant in the field, the initial growth and seedling index improved significantly in sulfuric acid and hot water treatments, which can be due to the high germination rate and use from the energy of the seed for the initial growth of the seedling. Conclusion: The results of this experiment showed significant observations in the superiority of about ۵۳% in germination, which can be considered in the context of further studies on improving germination and establishment of Bitterbayan in laboratory, greenhouse and field conditions.

کلیدواژه ها:

Sulfuric acid ، seed pretreatment ، prechilling ، seed dormancy