Canadian Forest Service Publications
Effects of seed water content, storage temperature and seed dormancy on the storage life of seed from three tree species native to Canada. 2001. Beardmore, T.; Wang, B.S.P. Pages 1-6 in K.F. Connor, T. Beardmore, E.L.,Jr. Tolentino, and W.M. Carandang, editors. IUFRO Joint Symposium on Tree Seed Technology, Physiology and Tropical Silviculture, April 30-May 3, 2001, Laguna, Philippines. College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Banos, Lagunas, Philippines.
Year: 2001
Issued by: Atlantic Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 21472
Language: English
Availability: PDF (request by e-mail)
Abstract
The effect of initial seed water content (3-4, 5-6 and 15-20%, on a fresh weight basis), storage temperature (+4, -20, -80 and -196 C) and seed dormancy on the ability to store three tree species, white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), black spruce (Picea mariana B.S.P.) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) native to Canada was investigated. The germination of white spruce control (untreated) seed and seed conditioned to 3-4% and 5-6% water content started to decline when stored for 48 months at -80 and -196 C, at 60 months. A further decline in germination occurred at -20, -80, -196C, and when stored at +4 C, germination remained high over all storage durations. Generally, black spruce and lodgepole pine seed conditioned to 3-4% and 5-6% water contents, and teh control (untreated) seed, exhibited high germination at all storage temperatures, for up to 60 months in storage. Germination declined for all three speices when seed was conditioned to 15-20% water contents. This loss in germination was partially recovered in white spruce seed stored at +4, -20 and -80 C after storage durations of 24, 12 and 48 months, respectively. In black spruce, it was recovered after seeds were stored at -20 and -196 C after storage durations of 24 months. This recovery in germination could be due to natural repair mechanism occurring in the seed, or changes in seed dormancy.