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Effect of Scarification on Longevity of Alfalfa Seed
Author(s) -
Battle Warren R.
Publication year - 1948
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1948.00021962004000080010x
Subject(s) - battle , agricultural experiment station , scarification , longevity , citation , history , horticulture , agriculture , library science , computer science , archaeology , biology , genetics , germination , dormancy
D URING an examination of old seed lots from early plant breeding work at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, four packets of Grimm alfalfa seed were found. The seed had been grown in Montana in ~934 and was ~4 years old when removed from storage. Three of the seed lots had been scarified in ~935; the fourth had been left untreated as a check. The scarification methods used were (~) rubbing with sand paper, (’2) treatmen~ with sulfuricacid, and (3) exposure to dry heat at 6o°C for 2 hours. After treatment, the seed had been sealed in coin envelopes, placed in a covered cardboard box, and stored in a drawer in an unheated building. All lots were clean and apparently free of insect injury. The check and the heat-treated seeds were plump and only slightly faded in color, comparing favorably in appearance with seeds of the current year’s crop. The mechanically scarified seeds were also plump, but most of the sample had turned brown. The acid-treated seeds were badly shrivelled and were a uniform deep brown. Ten lots of ~oo seeds were weighed from each sample. No significant differences in weight were found between the check and the heattreated and the mechanically scarified lots (Table ~). The a~id-treated seeds were significantly lighter in weight than the check seeds.