Reliability of germination testing procedures and germination performance of stored Eucalyptus camaldulensis seed of different ages
Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. is an important species for environmental and commercial forestry and there is a strong demand for seed. Stored seed must be tested in order to monitor losses in germination rate and vigour over time, which might adversely affect nursery recovery
rates. Typically, seed storage facilities undertake germination testing in growth cabinets in which temperature and light are controlled. It is important to ensure that testing procedures are reliable; for example, the use of different germination cabinets should not affect the results. Here,
we have assessed the germination performance of E. camaldulensis seedlots that have been stored for periods of 1, 6, 12 and 17 years, employing two germination cabinets routinely used for testing seed. A detailed experimental design was developed to determine the consistency of germination
within and between germination cabinets. The normal practice of undertaking laboratory germination studies of limited size in a single germination cabinet does not appear to compromise the results. It is, however, important if multiple shelves are to be used within a cabinet, that an experimental
design is employed so that adjustments can be made in across-shelf comparisons of germination capacity. Seed collected in 1985 and stored for 17 years had a significantly lower germination rate than younger seedlots.
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 April 2007
- Seed Science and Technology (SST) is one of the leading international journals featuring original papers and review articles on seed quality and physiology as related to seed production, harvest, processing, sampling, storage, distribution and testing. This widely recognised journal is designed to meet the needs of researchers, advisers and all those involved in the improvement and technical control of seed quality.
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Membership Information
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content