Mechanical Scarification of Dodder Seeds with a Handheld Rotary Tool

Abstract

Dodder seeds are physically dormant because of hard seed coats and do not readily germinate without scarification. Reliable methods of scarification for small lots of dodder seed are needed to facilitate laboratory, greenhouse, and field research projects. Dodder seed was scarified for varying times using a handheld rotary tool at the 10,000 rpm setting with a conical grinding-stone bit attached. Percentage of germination and weight change of seeds were assessed using scarification times between 0 and 4 min at 0.5-min increments. Mean seed weight loss and mean number of germinated seeds increased quadratically as scarification time increased. Scarifying for 2.5 min was judged the shortest time with maximal germination. Another study evaluated the effect of seed number (100 to 400 seeds sample−1) on the efficacy of rotary tool scarification when scarification time was held constant at 2.5 min. Percentage of germination decreased linearly as seed batch size increased. The handheld rotary tool provides consistent and repeatable scarification of dodder seed with germination rates greater than 80%.