An in vitro zygotic embryo germination protocol was developed for apricot (Prunus armeniaca L. “Hacıhaliloğlu”). A hundred percent of germination was obtained when isolated embryos were cultured in vitro, a result alike those reported in the literature with traditional dormancy breaking treatments. In vitro seedling development was optimal in a modified full-strength Murashige and Skoog (1962) ...

Cotton seedlings were subjected to a 96 hour chilling treatment (5 degrees or 10 degrees ) after periods of germination at 31 degrees ranging from 0 to 48 hours. Inhibition of subsequent growth at a favorable temperature by chilling was dependent on level of low temperature and stage of seedling development when chilled. Two periods of chilling hypersensitivity were observed during germination:...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS A meta-analysis of global change experiments in arctic tundra sites suggests that plant productivity and the cover of shrubs, grasses and dead plant material (i.e. litter) will increase and the cover of bryophytes will decrease in response to higher air temperatures. However, little is known about which effects these changes in vegetation structure will have on seedling recr...

Three hypotheses have been proposed to explain the functional relationship between seed mass and seedling performance: the reserve effect (larger seeds retain a larger proportion of reserves after germinating), the metabolic effect (seedlings from larger seeds have slower relative growth rates), and the seedling-size effect (larger seeds produce larger seedlings). We tested these hypotheses by ...

The most vulnerable stage in the life of plants is the seedling. The transition from wild to agricultural land that plants experienced during and after domestication implied a noticeable change in the seedlings' environment. Building on current knowledge of seedling ecology, and on previous studies of cassava, we hypothesise that cultivation should have promoted epigeal germination of seedlings...

Selection silviculture has become increasingly common for longleaf pine management, yet questions remain regarding residual canopy effects on seedling survival and growth. To determine what levels of residual overstory promote adequate seedling recruitment, 600 containerized longleaf pine seedlings were planted on two sites during the 2007-2008 dormant season. To differentiate overstory from un...

Seed mass and relative growth rate (RGR) are important determinants of early seedling growth, and hence seedling establishment. Although a positive interspecific relationship between seed mass and seedling dry mass is well established, much less is known about the relationships among seed mass, seedling mass and RGR within species. We examined relationships among seed mass, seedling mass and RG...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Allowing for dispersal limitation, a species' geographic distribution should reflect its environmental requirements. Comparisons among closely related species should reveal adaptive differentiation in species characteristics that are consistent with their differences in geographic distribution. This expectation was tested by comparing characteristics of seedlings of spruce s...

The distribution and dynamics of plant populations depend on the recruitment of young individuals, which is influenced by seed production, animal seed dispersal, dispersal distance, and the deposition of seeds in favourable places for seed germination/ establishment and seedling survival. In particular, seeds dispersed over long distances will likely encounter new environmental conditions that ...

Question: What is the effect of gap size on the seedling emergence, growth and survival of four common tree species in wooded pastures? Location: A pasture in the Jura mountains, Switzerland. Methods: Seeds were sown in a complete three-way factorial design with eight blocks in May 2003. Each block consisted of a competition treatment (four gap sizes including zero) and a mowing treatment (mown...