FORCED GERMINATION OF NECTARINE SEEDS FOR EARLY PLANT ESTABLISHMENT IN A BREEDING PROGRAM

‘Venus’ and ‘PR Red’ nectarine unstratified seeds germination was performed for obtaining plants during the harvest season for shortening seedling evaluation period of breeding programs.
Fruits were harvested on two maturity stages (8-12 kg and 3.5-6 kg flesh firmness). Flesh, pit, and seed coats were immediately removed; 30 uncoated seeds per treatment were soaked for 24 hours in the following solutions: water (control); 100 mg•L^-1 GA₃; 1,000 mg•L^-1 GA₃; 100 mg•L^-1 BA; 1,000 mg•L^-1 BA; 100 mg•L^-1 GA₃ + 100 mg•L^-1 BA; 100 mg•L^-1 GA₃ + 1,000 mg•L-^-1 BA; 1,000 mg•L^-1 GA₃ + 100 mg•L^-1 BA; 1,000 mg•L^-1 GA₃ + 1,000 mg•L^-1 BA. After the treatment, the seeds were sown in perlite and held in greenhouse at 22-24°C under intermittent mist.
Germination percentage, number of rosetted plants, and total growth were evaluated.
Treatments with 100 and 1,000 mg•L^-1 GA₃, combined with 0 and 100 mg•L^-1 BA, produced the highest germination, generally over 80%; seeds treated with 1,000 mg•L^-1 BA do not germinate. ‘Venus’ seeds from immature fruits without BA showed near 100% of rosetted plants, while only the control presented rosetting on ‘PR Red’. The highest fresh weight was observed on treatments with 1,000 mg•L-1 GA₃, which also had the longer stems.
Generally, control and 0 mg•L^-1 GA₃ + 100 mg•L^-1 BA showed the lowest stem and root length, fresh plant weight and stem length ratio.

VI International Peach Symposium

R. Infante, G. Reginato, P. Salamanca

Prunus persica, gibberellins, cytokinins, ´Venus&acyte;, ´PR Red´

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2006.713.15