Germination of Prunus mahaleb L. Seeds by Gibberellic Acid (GA) Treatments in Different Seed Age

Prunus mahaleb L. is a commonly used cherry rootstock as seedling. Breaking the seed dormancy is essential for successful seedling production. Several authors report on successful application of gibberellins to break seed dormancy and improve germination. There are many molecular variations of gibberellic acid, the most widely used commercially and in experiment is GA3. In this trial the efficiency of GA3 and GA4+7 was compared on Prunus mahaleb L. 'Korponay' at different seed age. Germination percentage, mean germination time (MGT) and germination velocity were evaluated. The results show that GA4+7 was more efficient than GA3 in breaking dormancy of fresh harvested P. mahaleb L. seeds. The mean germination time of fresh harvested seed was decreased by both gibberellin treatments; though the application of GA4+7 resulted in shorter MGT than that of GA3. 'Korponay' seeds when stored for a year, showed similar rates of germination compared to freshly harvested seeds. However, storing the seeds for a year did lead to slower germination speed. Application of gibberellins on seed stored for a year, did not have significant effect on the germination speed.