Abstract
An acidic condition (low pH) of the germination media promoted dormancy breakage of scarified seeds of Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis H.B.K.), an annual tropical forage legume, whether produced by either an unbuffered (HCl-KOH) or a buffered (phthalate, McIlvaine) medium. Except for aminooxyacetic acid, all ethylene biosynthesis inhibitors tested and supplied with the low pH solutions decreased germination to variable extents. Low pH-stimulated dormant seeds produced ethylene 4-fold as much than untreated seeds. Production of ethylene by seeds treated with high pH solutions, which did not affect their dormant state, was also very low.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- ABA:
-
abscisic acid
- ACC:
-
1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid
- AIB:
-
α-aminoisobutyric acid
- AOA:
-
aminooxyacetic acid
- ASA:
-
acetylsalicylic acid
- AVG:
-
2-aminoethoxyvinylglicine
- CEPA:
-
2-chloroethylphosphonic acid
- SA:
-
salicylic acid
References
Adkins S.W., Ross J.D. 1981. Studies in wild oat seed dormancy I. The role of ethylene in dormancy breakage and germination of wild oat seeds (Avena fatua L.). Plant Physiol., 67: 358–362.
Adkins S.W., Simpson G.M., Naylor J.M. 1985. The physiological basis of seed dormancy in Avena fatua VII. Action of organic acids and pH. Physiol. Plant., 65: 310–316.
Argel R.J., Humphreys L.R. 1983. Environment effects on seed development and hardseededness in Sthylosanthes hamata cv. Verano I. Temperature. Aust. J. Agr. Res., 34: 261–270.
Barros R.S., Freitas A.W.P. 2000. Stimulation of germination of dormant seeds of Townsville stylo by selenomethionine. Seed Sci. Technol., 28: 241–247.
Barros R.S., Freitas A.W.P. 2001. Selenomethionone as a dormancy-breaking agent in seeds of Stylosanthes humilis. Acta Physiol. Plant., 23: 279–284.
Burin M.E., Barros R.S., Rena A.B. 1987. Chemical regulation of endogenous dormancy in seeds of Stylosanthes humilis HBK. Turrialba, 37: 281–285.
Cameron D.F. 1967. Hardseededness and seed dormancy of Townsville lucerne (Stylosanthes humilis) selections. Aust. J. Exp. Agr. Anim. Husb., 7: 237–240.
Carvalho L.J.C.B., Mosquim P.R., Rena A.B. 1988. Resposta ao alumínio e fósforo por plantas de Stylosanthes humilis Sw coletadas em solo de cerrado com diferentes características químicas. In: EMBRAPACPAC (ed), VI Simpósio sobre cerrado e savanas: alimento e energia. Planaltina, DF, EMBRAPA, pp. 423–443.
Cohn M.A. 1989. Factors influencing the efficacy of dormancy-breaking chemicals. In: Taylorson, R.B. (ed) Recent advances in development and germination of seeds. New York, Plenum Press, pp. 261–267.
Cohn M.A., Chiles L.A., Hughes J.A., Boullion K.J. 1987. Seed dormancy in red rice VI. Monocarboxylic acids: a new class of pH-dependent germination stimulants. Plant Physiol., 84: 716–719.
Delatorre C.A. 1994. Regulaç o n o-específica da germinaç o de sementes de Stylosanthes humilis HBK. MSc. Thesis, Viçosa, UFV.
Delatorre C.A., Barros R.S. 1996. Germination of dormant seeds of Stylosanthes humilis as related to heavy metal ions. Biol. Plant., 38: 269–274.
Footitt S., Cohn M.A. 1992. Seed dormancy in red rice VII. Embryo acidification during dormancy-breaking and subsequent germination. Plant Physiol., 100: 1196–1202.
Gardener C.J. 1975. Mechanisms regulating germination in seeds of Stylosanthes. Aust. J. Agr. Res., 26: 281–294.
Holm A.M. 1972. The effect of high temperature pretreatment on germination of Townsville stylo seed material. Aust. J. Exp. Agr. Anim. Husb., 13: 190–192.
McIvor F.G. 1976. Germination characteristics of seven Stylosanthes species. Aust. J. Exp. Agr. Anim. Husb., 16: 723–728.
Ribeiro D.M. 2003. Germinaç o de sementes dormentes de Stylosanthes humilis promovida pelo acúmulo de etileno em ambiente fechado. MSc. Thesis, Viçosa, UFV.
Roberts E.H. 1963. The effect of inorganic ions on dormancy in rice seeds. Physiol. Plant., 16: 732–744.
Saltveit- M.E. Jr, Yang S.F. 1987. Ethylene. In: Rivier L., Crozier A. (eds) Principles and practice of plant hormone analysis, Vol 2. Academic Press, London. Pp. 367–401.
Scott A.J., Knott M. 1974. A cluster analysis method for grouping means in the analysis of variance. Biometrics, 30: 507–512.
Simpson G.M. 1965. Dormancy studies in seed of Avena fatua. The role of gibberellin in embryo dormancy. Can. J. Bot., 43: 793–816.
Vieira H.D., Barros R.S. 1994. Responses of seed of Stylosanthes humilis to germination regulators. Physiol. Plant., 92: 17–20.
Vieira H.D., Silva R.F., Barros R.S. 1999. pH and gibberellic acid overcome dormancy of seeds of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. Rev. Bras. Fisiol. Veg., 11: 51–54.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pelacani, C.R., Barros, R.S., Ribeiro, D.M. et al. Breaking dormancy of Stylosanthes humilis seeds with low pH solutions. Acta Physiol Plant 27, 387–394 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-005-0016-4
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-005-0016-4