Effect of Some Treatments on Break Seed Dormancy of Date Palm Phoenix dactylifera L. Cultivar Al-Barni

Ziad Jalal Al-Hussin⁽¹⁾    Mohammad Morshed Akkad Al-Dhaher^*(2)    Al-Hasan Ali Al-Humedi⁽³⁾

(1): Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Furat University, Deir-Ezzor, Syria.

(2): Biotechnology Department, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.

(3): Post graduate student, Horticulture Department, Agricultural Engineering Faculty, Al-Furat University, Deir-Ezzor, Syria.

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Mohammad Morshed Al-Dhaher, E. mail: sygyptarc@gmail.com).

Received: 04/02/2020                               Accepted: 23/03/2019

Abstract

This practical experiment achieved in a nursery at Al-Hasaka city during 2018 and 2019 in order to study the effect of soaking date plam (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seeds with three different priming treatments, for break seed dormancy and speed its germination. The trial was made up of 1200 Al-Barni cultivar seeds. Seeds divided into three treatments, soaking in sulfuric acid (30 min.), soaking in boiling water (1 min.), and soaking in gibberellic acid solution (1000 ppm for 24 h), while control seeds were soaked with normal water for 24 h. Experiment laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) and each treatment replicated three times (100 seeds for each replicate). Germination rates were measured weekly (%), meanwhile, growth indicators of shoot system and root system (seedling height and weight) were measured at the end of trial. Results showed that higher germination rate of 78.33 % observed in the sulfur treated seeds then boiled water and control (72.67 %), while least germination rate recorded with gibberellin treatment (70 %). No significant difference observed between the last three treatments (P>0.05). The best germination speed noticed with sulfur acid soaked seeds, but the worst one detected with gibberellin soaked seeds (11.06 – 12.54 week/seed respectively). On the other hand, the highest germination homogeneous recognized when Al-Barni cultivar seeds treated with sulfur acid, while the control had the lowest (2.61 – 2.2 seed/day respectively). The results indicated an optimum vegetative and radical growth in date palms occurred when seeds soaked with gibberellin (49.33 cm for seedling height – 46 cm for seedling root length), whereas higher alive weight of each shoot and root system recorded with gibberellic acid (at 1000 ppm ) or sulfur treatment, the least weight noticed with control seedlings. Briefly, the treatment of seeds of Al-Barni date palm cultivar with sulfur acid (30 min.) enhanced germination indicators, but soaking seeds with gibberellin solution (1000 ppm for 24 h) increased seedling growth and development indicators leading to growth homogenous between vegetative and radical systems.

Keyword: Seed dormancy, Priming, Germination, Gibberellin, Boiling water,
Date palm, Phoenix dactylifera L.

Full paper in Arabic: pdf