Effect of gibberellic acid (GA3) on seedling growth of some wild almond (Prunus scoparia) genotypes in Khuzestan province of Iran

The wild almond (Prunus scoparia) belongs to the Rosaceae family and is considered as one the important wild almond species in Iran. Seeds of P. scoparia with a stony endocarp exhibit physical and physiological dormancy. Slow seed germination and poor seedling growth are important problems in the propagation of this species. Several seed treatments have been suggested for overcoming physical and physiological seed dormancy but sufficient information is not published about the treatments that accelerate the early seedling growth of P. scoparia. In the present study, the effects of gibberellic acid (0, 125 and 250 mg/L) on seedling growth of four genotypes of P. scoparia from the Khuzestan province were studied. After the seed nicking (mechanical scarification) and stratification for 30 days at 7+1oC, seeds of four genotypes of wild almond (Masjed Sloeyman, Izeh, Behbahan, and Dezful) were planted in sand and irrigated daily with Epstein nutrient solution. Foliar application of Gibberellic Acid (125 and 250 mg/l) was carried out 30 days after seedling emergence. Distilled water sprayed as a control. After 90 days, data was recorded and analyzed statistically based on completely randomized design. Results showed that the GA3 application with foliar significantly affected leaf number, stem and root length, stem diameter, root and stem dry weight, root/shoot dry weight ratio, leaf dry weight/ total dry weight ratio, shoot index (shoot dry weight/ main stem length) and root ratio (root dry weight/ main root length) in all genotype. Effect of GA3 on both leaf dry weight and leaf dry weight/ root dry weight showed no significant difference in all genotypes. The results suggested that foliar application of gibberellic acid is an effective treatment for increasing the vegetative growth of wild almond (P. scoparia) genotypes in the Khuzestan province.

Keywords:

Plant Growth Regulators , Wild Almond , Genetic Resources , Propagation , Biomass