Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2017
Flotation techniques to improve viability of Juniperus polycarpos seed lots
Daneshvar, Abolfazl; Tigabu, Mulualem; Karimidoost, Asaddollah; Oden, Per ChristerAbstract
The germination of freshly collected Juniperus polycarpos (K. Koch) seeds is very low and attributed to the large proportion of nonviable seeds in the seed lots. Thus, the aim of this study was to improve seed lot quality by removing nonviable seeds using two flotation techniques: incubation-drying-separation (IDS) and modified specific gravity (MSG) separation. We examined different IDS conditions (the specific incubation time, subsequent drying time and sorting media) for effectively sorting out nonviable seeds; and tested the feasibility of modified SG separation, which involved soaking seeds in water for a certain period before sorting in different concentrations of sucrose solution. Viable seeds were expected to absorb and metabolically bind more water during soaking than dead seeds could, and hence be sorted effectively depending on the viscosity of the sucrose solution. The viability of the seeds that floated or sank was determined in a topographical tetrazolium chloride (TTC) test. For the IDS trial, 7 days incubation followed by 9 h of drying and sedimentation in pure water or 200 g center dot L-1 sucrose solution identified, respectively, 75 and 82 % of the seeds as viable (sunken) seeds. For the MSG trail, 77 % viable seeds were recovered in the sunken fraction when seeds were soaked for 48 h then immediately sorted in 600 g center dot L-1 sucrose solution. In both cases, the loss of viable seeds in the discarded floating fraction was only 4 %. The results demonstrate that both IDS and MSG separation techniques substantially improved seed lot viability, but MSG separation is simple and needs no modern seed handling facility, and its efficacy relies on seed mass (due to the initial soaking) and the specific density and viscosity of the flotation medium.Keywords
Incubation-drying-separation (IDS); Iran; Juniperus polycarpos; Specific gravity (SG) separation; Seed viability; Seed sorting systemPublished in
Journal of Forestry Research2017, volume: 28, number: 2, pages: 231-239
Publisher: NORTHEAST FORESTRY UNIV
Authors' information
Daneshvar, Abolfazl
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre
Daneshvar, Abolfazl
Gonbad Kavous University
Tigabu, Mulualem
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre
Karimidoost, Asaddollah
Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center of Golestan Province
Oden, Per Christer (Oden, Per)
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre
UKÄ Subject classification
Forest Science
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-016-0306-2
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/94224