The effect of different dormancy breaking methods on germination of Ferula ovina seeds

Ferula ovina is a medicinal plant belonging to the Apiaceae family that can be used its dry forage as livestock fodder. This plant due to over harvesting from natural pastures has been endanger to elimination. Ferula ovina seeds have a little germination due to seed dormancy.  In order to break seed dormancy an experiment with 28 treatments in a completely randomized design with four replications in seed technology and Agricultural Research laboratories of Birjand University was carried out. Treatments were consisting of 6 and 12 hours of  leaching, chemical scarification with sulfuric acid solution 80% for 5 and 10 min, Potassium Nitrate 0.3% for 72 hours, hormone treatments, Gibberellic acid (250, 500 and 1000 ppm) and Benzyl Amino Porine (0.1 And 0.25 mg per liter), prechilling for 20, 35 and 50 days at +5 °C temperature, and combined prechilling and hormonal treatments. Results showed that the effect of treatments on percentage, rate, mean germination time and seed vigor of Ferula ovina was significant (P≤%1). prechilling was an essential factor for dormancy breaking of Ferula ovina seeds. Hormonal treatments improved seed germination characteristics.  The best treatment for Ferula ovina seed dormancy breaking was 50 days perichilling with 500 ppm GA3 at +5 °C temperature.