Effect of different treatments on seed dormancy breaking and germination stimulation of Ammodendron persicum

Nowadays, with regard to the global view of desert issue and necessity of using adaptable species in combat desertification, it is urgent to identify and remove the constraints of their production and establishment. Ammodendron persicum is one of the important and compatible species in desert ecosystems. The current research was carried out to investigate the effect of different treatments on seed dormancy breaking and germination stimulation of Ammodendron persicum in order to determine the most effective treatment in enhancing of germination and primary growth of seedlings. The experiment was done in a Randomize Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 8 treatments and 4 replications. Different treatments were applied including scarification plus sulphuric acid (H2SO4 98%) for 10 and 15 minutes, scarification with sandy paper, scarification plus putting the seeds in hot water for 10 and 15 minutes, KNO3 (0.1 and 0.2 %), a complex treatment of scarification and KNO3 (0.1 and 0.2%) and distilled water as control treatment. To analyze the data, ANOVA was used and Duncan test was applied to compare the means. The result showed that scarification with sandy paper had the highest effect on seed dormancy breaking and seed germination stimulation of A. persicum as germination percentage increased from 3% in distilled water to 68% in scarification treatment.