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