Rangeland Plant Ecology Research Forage and Range Research Laboratory Scarification + prechilling increases germination of basalt milkvetch seed Tom Jones, Douglas Johnson, Kevin Connors, Robert Smith, and Shaun Bushman Forage and Range Research Laboratory Materials: laboratory germination experiment PLANTS FOR THE WEST NBR-1 Germplasm basalt milkvetch (Astragalus filipes) Forage and Range Research Laboratory Materials: laboratory germination experiment PLANTS FOR THE WEST Spectrum Germplasm western prairie clover (Dalea ornata) Forage and Range Research Laboratory Methods: laboratory germination experiment PLANTS FOR THE WEST Protocol germination at room temperature germination counts every week for 10 weeks Treatments scarification with sandpaper vs. no scarification 3-week prechill at 5o C vs. no prechill sand vs. blotter paper substrate Replication 8 (2 x 2 x 2) treatment combinations tested @ 100 seeds in each of 6 replicates repeated entire experiment two additional times Forage and Range Research Laboratory Western prairie clover: 8 treatment combinations PLANTS FOR THE WEST 40 % Germination 35 scarified 30 PC SC SA PC SC BL 25 PC UN SA 20 PC UN BL 15 NC SC SA unscarified 10 NC SC BL NC UN SA 5 NC UN BL 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Week 7 8 9 10 Forage and Range Research Laboratory Basalt milkvetch: 8 treatment combinations % Germination PLANTS FOR THE WEST 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 PC SC SA PC SC BL PC UN SA PC UN BL NC SC SA NC SC BL NC UN SA NC UN BL 1 2 3 4 5 6 Week 7 8 9 10 Forage and Range Research Laboratory Basalt milkvetch: scarification PLANTS FOR THE WEST % Germination 30 scarified 25 20 15 unscarified 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 Week 6 7 8 9 10 Forage and Range Research Laboratory Basalt milkvetch: prechilling PLANTS FOR THE WEST 30 prechilled % Germination 25 20 nonprechilled 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 Week 6 7 8 9 10 Forage and Range Research Laboratory Basalt milkvetch: substrate PLANTS FOR THE WEST 35 sand % Germination 30 25 20 blotter paper 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Week 7 8 9 10 Forage and Range Research Laboratory Basalt milkvetch: prechill x substrate interaction PLANTS FOR THE WEST 40 % Germination 35 30 PC/sand 25 20 PC/BP 15 nonPC/sand 10 5 nonPC/BP 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Week 7 8 9 10 Forage and Range Research Laboratory Conclusions: laboratory germination experiment PLANTS FOR THE WEST Germination increased linearly over time for all treatment combinations of both species (no plateau). Scarification increased germination of western prairie clover, but prechilling and substrate had no effect. Prechilling, scarification, and a sand substrate all increased germination of basalt milkvetch. Blotter paper suppressed germination relative to a sand substrate through the experiment’s duration, though mostly not at the initial firstweek count. For basalt milkvetch, the PC/SC/sand treatment combination was the highest at all 10 weeks, and the nonPC/unSC/blotter paper combination was always the lowest. Forage and Range Research Laboratory Basalt milkvetch: field establishment experiment PLANTS FOR THE WEST 5 seed treatments arranged in a randomized complete block design with 6 replications at each of two locations Treatments control 6-seconds of sandpaper scarification 5-minute acid scarification acid scarification + 14-day prechill 10-seconds boiling Forage and Range Research Laboratory Basalt milkvetch field experiment: North Park results PLANTS FOR THE WEST % Germination 60 50 40 acid/prechill sandpaper 30 20 10 acid boil control 0 7 11 23 Week 27 Forage and Range Research Laboratory Basalt milkvetch field experiment: Millville results PLANTS FOR THE WEST % Germination 30 25 20 sandpaper acid/prechill 15 10 acid boil control 5 0 7 11 Week 23 Forage and Range Research Laboratory Basalt milkvetch field experiment: conclusions PLANTS FOR THE WEST At both sites, acid scarification + prechill and sandpaper scarification increased seedling establishment over the control, but the boiling and acid scarification treatments did not increase seedling establishment. At both sites, a large amount of seedling attrition was observed for the two more successful treatments, but no attrition was observed for the three less successful treatments. The preceding presentation was delivered at the 2015 National Native Seed Conference Santa Fe, New Mexico April 13-16, 2015 This and additional presentations available at http://nativeseed.info
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