Influence of seed size on germination and early development of loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) germinants

Abstract

Seed size was examined as a possible explanation for variation in the size of containerized loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) seedlings. Under laboratory conditions of minimal environmental stress, larger seed were found to germinate more quickly and produce a larger germinant after 28 days of growth. In a similar experiment conducted under greenhouse growing conditions, large seed produced the largest seedlings. Size differences among seedlings in both experiments resulted from differences in the rate of germination unique to each seed size class. Consequently, seedling size and possibly uniformity of growth were considered to be a function of germination patterns which were strongly influenced by seed size and weight.