Combating Physical and Physiological Dormancy of Seeds of Prumus persica

Reagan E. Speas
Texas A&M University, Dept. of Horticultural Sciences, College Station, TX 77843-2133
rspeas97@email.tamu.edu
Index words: dormancy, germination, gibberellic acid, Prumus persica, Rosaceae, scarification,
stratification
Significance to Industry: There is a high demand for peaches and, therefore, a need to produce
peach trees as efficiently as possible. Understanding scarification and stratification of peach
seeds can significantly improve peach seed germination and peach production. This study
provides recommendations for germinating Prumis persica seed.
Nature of Work: Scarification and stratification are important because peach seeds must go
through each process before they can germinate. These processes happen naturally, but can be
sped up by peach producers. For example, the endocarp can be mechanically removed to satisfy
scarification. The Florida State Horticultural Society did a study on the germination of
‘Okinawa’ peach seeds. “Observations of peach seed when planted under field conditions in
Florida indicated that those seeds removed from the endocarp germinated better than those not
removed” (Biggs, 1966) and “…seeds removed from the endocarp required a much shorter
duration of chilling to induce germination” (Biggs, 1966). Another study conducted in Brazil
tested the effectiveness of removing the endocarp of eight different cultivars of Prunus plants.
“In general, it was found that the effect of the physical barrier imposed by the endocarp led to a
small percentage of germination not only in the cvs. Capdeboscq, Aldrighi and Okinawa, but
also almost null germination percents of the seeds of ‘Tsukuba 1’, 2’, 3’ and ‘Okinawa roxo’ and
‘Flordaguard’…” (Souza et al., 2017). Furthermore, the stratification process can be satisfied by
storing the seeds in a cold environment or by soaking the seeds in gibberellic acid. One study on
the effect of a chilling treatment for 0, 1, 3, 7, and 9 weeks found that “the germination rate was
nearly identical and total in embryos with periods of cold stratification of one week or longer,
whereas non-stratified embryos showed a lower rate of about 80%” (Leida et al., 2012). Also, a
study done on the effects of gibberellic acid on peach seed germination found that “germination
ratios of peach embryos increased to 86.7% when embryos were cultured on MS medium
supplemented with 0.5 mg·L−1BAP + 3.0 mg·L−1 GA3” (San et al., 2014). Another study found
that “non-chilled ‘Nemaguard’ seed treated with gibberellin germinated at 80%, and after 2
weeks' chilling at nearly 100%” (Mehanna et al., 1985).
Seeds of Prumis persica were collected in February of 2018, in College Station, TX. Twenty
seeds were not given a treatment as a control, twenty seeds had a three week stratification
treatment, twenty seeds had a ten week stratification treatment, and twenty seeds were soaked in
GA 3000 ppm. For each treatment and the control, ten of the seeds had the endocarp intact, while
the remaining ten had the endocarp removed. Germination was carried out in commercial mix in
flats inside of a greenhouse and were provided light, water, and warm temperature. A count of
germinated seeds was made weekly for eight weeks and final height in centimeters was measured
after eight weeks.
Results and Discussion: The intact endocarp resulted in no germination for every treatment
including the control. Removing the endocarp improved germination for every treatment except
the control. This suggests that the endocarp acts as a barrier and slows germination in the seeds.
The seeds that had the endocarp removed and were treated with three weeks of stratification, ten
weeks of stratification, and the gibberellic acid soak all resulted in germination. The three week
stratification treatment resulted in moderate germination, but had the lowest height. The ten
week stratification treatment resulted in the most germination, but had less height than the
gibberellic acid soaked seed. The gibberellic acid soaked seeds resulted in the lowest amount of
germination, but those that did germinate were the tallest. This suggests that ten weeks of
stratification results is more germination than three weeks of stratification and that the
gibberellic acid soak results in less germination, but more vigorous plants. These results are in
agreement with previous research because removing the endocarp and both the stratification
treatments and the gibberellic acid soak resulted in higher germination. These results are in
agreement with the whole class results because the control had the least germination and smallest
height, the ten week stratification had a higher germination rate and height than the three week
treatment, and the gibberellic acid soak resulted in the lowest germination rate, but the highest
height.
The experiment went well because the results were consistent with the other groups in the class
and other previous studies. In the future, something that could be improved is placement of the
flats on the tables in the greenhouse. Some were closer to the water mist than others which could
have skewed the results.
Literature Cited:
Biggs, R.E., 1966. Germination of Okinawa Peach Seeds Under the Conditions of Florida.
Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations Journal (2563): 371.
Leida, C., A. Conejero, V. Arbona, A. Cadenas, G. Llacer, M. Badenes, and G. Rios. Chilling-
Dependent Release of Seed and Bud Dormancy in Peach Associates to Common Changes in
Gene Expression. Journal PLoS One 7(5): 334.
Mehanna, H.T., G. Martin, and C. Nishijima. Effects of temperature, chemical treatments and
endogenous hormone content on peach seed germination and subsequent seedling growth.
Scientia Horticulturae (27): 63.
San, B., A. Yildirim, and F. Yildirim. An In Vitro Germination Technique for Some Stone Fruit
Species: the Embryo Isolated from Cotyledons Successfully Germinated without Cold Pre-
treatment of Seeds. HortScience Journal (2327-9834): 294.
Souza, A.G., V. Spinelli, R. Souza, O. Smiderle, and V. Bianchi, 2017. Optimization of
Germination and Initial Quality of Seedlings of Prunus persica Tree Rootstocks. Journal of
Seed Science (2317-1545): 322.