Effects of seed coating methods on seed germination of Sanguisorba minor in different soil moisture levels and sowing depths

Applying methods like seed coating which result in germination improvement, reduction of environmental stresses and increase of range species establishment is utmost important. This experiment was performed to evaluate the effect of different seed coating methods on Sanguisorba minor seed germination under drought stress and different sowing depths. A factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications was conducted in this research. Treatments included three soil moisture levels (9, 14 and 21 percent of soil dry weight), two sowing depths (surface and three times the diameter of seed), and four seed coatings (control or no seed coating, organic matter, hydro gel and clay seed coatings). Germination percentage was recorded during the experiment. The results of main treatments showed that regardless of the coating type, the effect of all three coating materials on seed germination percentage was significant (p<0.01). The triple interaction effects of soil moisture, sowing depths and coating materials indicated that in surface sowing and all soil moisture levels, there was a significant difference (p<0.01) in seed germination percentage between seed coating and control treatments. No germination was observed in control treatment with 9% soil moisture and surface sowing. Germination percentage for control treatment with 14% soil moisture was 20% recorded as the second rank among the lowest germination levels. In treatment of three times the diameter of seed as sowing depth with 21% soil moisture, there was no significant difference in germination percentage between control and seed coating treatments.