The Effect of Storage Temperature and Hormonal Concentration on Seed Germination and Early Growth of Pinus nigra var. caramanica

In order to study the effect of storage temperature and hormonal concentration on stored seed germination and early growth of Pinus nigra var. caramanica, an experiment including 3 factors in the context of Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with 3 replications was carried out. The seeds were stored for three years at two temperature conditions (refrigerator temperature 4 ºC and room temperature 20-25 ºC). In this way, the seeds were soaked in gibberellin acid (GA3) and benzyl amino purine (BAP) at concentrations of 0, 50, 100, and 200 mg l-1 for 24 h and kept out in germinator (20 °C) for 40 days. In general, both hormonal solutions improved germination traits. The highest germination percentage, germination rate, germination energy, seedling length, seedling dry weight, and vigor index were obtained in refrigerator temperature and at concentrations of 200 mg l-1 GA3 and 50 mg l-1 BAP, and in room temperature at 200 mg l-1 BAP and 50 mg l-1 GA3. It is recommended that in nurseries of semi-arid and semi-humid regions, in the absence of refrigerator, the seeds of P. nigra var. caramanica would be better to store in the room temperature for three years.