Berto Bianca, Erickson Todd E, Ritchie Alison L
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
Kings Park Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kings Park, WA 6005, Australia.
Plants (Basel). 2023 Jun 23;12(13):2432. doi: 10.3390/plants12132432.
Difficult to handle seed material and poor germination commonly limit the uptake of native grasses in restoration and commercial-scale seeding efforts. Seed enhancement technologies (SETs) offer valuable solutions for improving the handling of seed material and optimising germination. This study considered eight widespread Australian native grasses; two representative of Mediterranean to temperate climates ('cool-climate' species) and six representative of arid to subtropical climates ('warm-climate' species). Through a series of experiments, this study logically selected and applied SET treatments to improve seed handling and germination for each study species. Seed handling was prioritised and addressed using flash flaming and/or acid digestion, while hydropriming was used following seed-handling treatments to enhance germination. Flash flaming and acid digestion were both applied to successfully reduce or remove bulky floret structures while maintaining or improving germination. Flaming at 110 ± 10 °C with continuous exposure for 10 min and acid digestion concentrations of 75-80% with exposure times of 1-2.5 min were generally successful. Sub-optimal concentrations of sulphuric acid often compromised germination. Hydropriming did not improve germination outcomes when applied following flaming or acid digestion. Optimising SETs for germination, emergence and establishment in different environments, and the viability and costs of application on larger seed batches are key considerations for the implementation and upscaling of SETs in the future.
难以处理的种子材料和较差的发芽率通常限制了在恢复和商业规模播种工作中本地草种的采用。种子增强技术（SETs）为改善种子材料的处理和优化发芽提供了有价值的解决方案。本研究考虑了八种广泛分布的澳大利亚本地草种；两种代表地中海至温带气候（“冷气候”物种），六种代表干旱至亚热带气候（“暖气候”物种）。通过一系列实验，本研究合理地选择并应用了SET处理方法，以改善每种研究物种的种子处理和发芽情况。种子处理被优先考虑，并通过闪烧和/或酸处理来解决，而在种子处理后使用水引发来提高发芽率。闪烧和酸处理均成功减少或去除了庞大的小花结构，同时保持或提高了发芽率。在110±10°C下持续暴露10分钟进行闪烧，以及在75 - 80%的酸处理浓度下暴露1 - 2.5分钟通常是成功的。硫酸浓度次优时常常会损害发芽率。在闪烧或酸处理后进行水引发并不能改善发芽结果。在不同环境中优化SETs以实现发芽、出苗和定植，以及在更大种子批次上应用的可行性和成本，是未来SETs实施和扩大规模的关键考虑因素。
