Effect of different dormancy-breaking methods on seed germination and vigour of Atraphaxis spinosa

Goat’s wheat manna ( Atraphaxis spinosa L.), which naturally spreads in arid and unproductive areas (Iğdır-Aralık Province) in the Northeast of Türkiye, is an important species in erosion control and feeding of grazing animals. For this reason, it is of great importance to know the seed viability and dormancy-breaking methods of A. spinosa to bring into production the marginal areas where very few species grow. A. spinosa seeds collected at the wind erosion site were germinated for 28 days at 10, 15, 20, 25, 20/10, 20/15 25/10, and 25/15 °C in dark conditions, and the mean germination time of the seeds, total and normal germination rates have been determined. As a result of the experiment, the highest normal (21%) and total (27%) germination rates were determined at 25/10°C and 25/15°C, respectively, and these results showed a high dormancy of seeds. To eliminate the germination problem, 34 different pre-treatments were applied at different application times and levels of 12 dormancy-breaking methods: (1) matrix-priming, (2) hydro-priming, (3) gibberellic acid (GA 3 ), (4) potassium nitrate (KNO 3 ), (5) chemical (sulphuric acid, H 2 SO 4 ) scarification, (6) mechanical scarification, (7) warm stratification, (8) cold stratification, (9) warm + cold stratification, (10) cold + warm stratification, (11) soaking in cold water, and (12) soaking in hot water. Afterwards, seed germination characteristics were determined at temperatures where the highest germination (25/10°C and 25/15°C) was achieved. The highest normal (94.6%) and total (100%) germination rates and the fastest germination time (1.0–4.1 days) were obtained from the seeds incubated at 25/15°C after cold stratification (4 weeks) and cold + warm stratification (3 weeks cold + 1 week warm).