GERMINABILITY OF LEEK SEEDS AND ITS IMPROVEMENT BY OSMOPRIMING

Leek (Allium porrum L.) seeds germinate much better at relatively low temperatures (5 to 20°C) than at temperatures above 20°C. The thermal optimum is ca 15–20°C. Low temperatures (5–10°C) slow down germination rate but do not affect the final germination percentage, whereas temperatures higher than 20°C strongly reduce germination.
Germination is also very sensitive to oxygen deprivation and is completely inhibited in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) at osmotic pressure of -15 bars.

Osmopriming strongly improves the rate and the final percentage of germination at suboptimal temperatures and in hypoxia.
The best conditions for priming leek seeds are 7–10 days at 15°C and -15 bars.
The stimulatory effect of priming persists after seed redrying and during subsequent storage in the presence of silicagel for at least 15 months.
However primed seeds deteriorate faster than untreated seeds during accelerated ageing.

The results obtained allow a better knowledge of the factors affecting the poor seedling emergence under unfavourable field conditions and lead to recommend priming for improving leek seed quality.

VII International Symposium on Timing Field Production of Vegetables

F. Corbineau, M.A. Picard, D. Côme

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1994.371.4