Effect of Soaking, Moist Chilling, and Temperature on Germination of Striped Maple ( Acer pensylvanicum ) Seed

1. Effect of Soaking, Moist Chilling, and Temperature on Germination of Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum) Seed Anthony Bourgoin and Dale Simpson Canadian Forest Service Fredericton, NB

2. Range of Striped Maple

3. Silvics • Small tree up to 10 m tall • Grows on well-drained, cool moist soils • Shade tolerant • Flowers in late May; seed falls mid October • Trees are monoecious and/or dioecious

4. Identification

5. Dormancy • Embryo – inhibitors • Testa – reduces imbibition • reduces leaching of inhibitors • restricts radicle elongation • Pericarp

7. Experimental Design • 5 Seed lots – 3 single-tree, 2 bulk • 4 Soaks – 0, 48, 72, 96 hours • 3 Chill times – 16, 24, 32 weeks • 2 Germination temp. regimes – 5/15°C, 20/30°C • 4 Replications of 25 seed each

9. Germination • Assessed every 7 days for 56 days (8 weeks) • Successful germinants had properly developed cotyledons, hypocotyl and radicle • Cutting test done on ungerminated seed

11. Data Analysis • Total germination at 8 weeks • Data transformed by arcsin square root • Data analyzed using SAS

12. Impact of Soaking Time on Seed Moisture Content Results

13. Results

14. 5/15°C 20/30°C Results

15. 16 weeks chill 32 weeks chill Results

16. Conclusions • Soaking seed for 48 hours was sufficient to promote high germination • Moist chilling for 16 weeks was adequate to promote high germination • Seed germination was maximized at temperatures of 5/15°C • Secondary dormancy was induced at germination temperatures of 20/30°C