Effects of Gibberellic Acid and Low Temperature on Germination of Some Prunus Species Embryos (Without Cotyledons) Under Laboratory Conditions

Abstract

Abstract Seeds of Prunus species do not germinate as a result of different mechanisms of dormancy such as physiological, physical and/or chemical ones. This study was carried out in order to determine the effects of three concentrations of Gibberellic acid (GA3) 1, 3, and 5 mg.L−1 and low temperature at 5 °C on germination and on the length of isolated embryos from cotyledons of almond, apricot, plum, peach, mahaleb and sweet cherry on top of filter paper under laboratory conditions. The highest germination percentage (96.67%) was at 1 mg.L−1 GA3 without cold treatment or 3 mg.L−1 GA3 + cold treatment in almond, the highest length of embryos (15.47 mm) was also in almond at 1 mg.L−1 GA3 without cold treatment. Embryos of mahaleb and sweet cherry germinated at low germination percentages of 31.16%, 33.33% respectively at 3 mg.L−1 GA3 + cold treatment. It was concluded that embryos of almond, apricot, plum and peach were germinated successfully on top of filter paper under laboratory conditions and GA3 increased significantly the germination percentages of the isolated embryos either after cold treatment or without compared with controls. A strong positive correlation was found between seed germination without testa, embryos germination and final embryos length simultaneously.