Germination Capacity of Artemisia umbelliformis Lam. Wild Populations and Agro-techniques to Enhance Seedling Production

Artemisia umbelliformis Lam. is an alpine herbaceous species which grows in the wild and used in the production of the génépi’ liqueur, and with interest as ingredient in other food products. The propagation and cultivation have become the only way to ensure a supply chain for this plant, preserving the natural habitats. However, seed propagation is limited by low germination. Selected seeds and fine-tuned agrotechniques are requested by the nursery production system. We investigated seed germination ability (final germination percentage - FGP, first germination time - FGT, halftime of germination - T۵۰, germination period - GPD, and mean germination time - MGT) and early seedling development of three wild A. umbelliformis populations (Valnontey, Soana and Urtier), by testing three germination substrates with different peat and perlite ratio (v:v) (S۱, ۱۰۰:۰ ; S۲, ۸۰:۲۰; S۳, ۶۰:۴۰), in combination or not with two generalist arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) species (Rhizophagus intraradices and Funneliformis mosseae). Results highlighted variability in germination capacity according to the genotypes, indicating the Valnontey population as superior to Soana and Urtier in FGP (۳۴.۰ %, ۷.۲ % and ۸.۶ %, respectively), FGT (۸.۷, ۱۳.۲ and ۱۴.۱ days, respectively), MGT (۱۲.۵, ۱۶.۵ and ۱۷.۱ days, respectively) and T۵۰ (۱۳.۸, ۱۷.۴ and ۱۶.۸ days, respectively). Among the substrates, S۳ led to a higher FGP (۲۲.۹ %) than the others (۱۱.۴ % and ۱۵.۶ % in S۱ and S۲, respectively), thus resulting preferable. No AMF symbiosis was highlighted; therefore, the advantage of applying bioinoculants to improve génépi production should be further investigated.

Keywords:

Alpine medicinal and aromatic plants , AMF , génépi , germination , seed quality , substrate