The determination of effects of some pretreatments on germination of the sea buckthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides L., on open field and greenhouse conditions

In this study, breaking of germination obstacle and determination of the germination percentage of the seeds of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) which were collected from Sarıkum near Sinop province were studied.The seeds used in the study were obtained from H. rhamnoides individuals which are natural populations in the autumn of the year 2010. The collected seeds were preserved in at 4±1ºC after cleaning pulp of seeds and drying on darkness. Pre-treatments applied to the seeds were cold stratification for 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 days and soaking in concentrate H2SO4 for 1, 2, 3 and 4 minutes. The seeds were sown in polyethylene pots under open field and greenhouse conditions. The statistical approach was a randomized complete block design with three replications and 45 seeds were used in each replication.The highest germination percentages were obtained from the seeds which were soaked in H2SO4 for 2 minutes and sown both in the greenhouse (76%) and under open field conditions (44%). On the other hand, the lowest germination percentages were determined in control seeds under open field and greenhouse conditions 21% and 39%, respectively. The germination percentages in the control groups were lower than all pre-treatments in the study.Key Words: Hippophae rhamnoides, germination, cold stratification, sulphuric acid