Effects of Seed Size and Hardness Degree on Imbibition and Germination of Sophora japonica Seeds
LIANG Yun
DU Jintao
QIN Xiaochen
YANG Yaling
SUN Wenxiang
YAO Lixia
SU Shengli
GAO Guangping
HUANG Lisheng
Abstract：To improve the germination capacity of Sophora japonica seeds,this study explored the effects of seed size and hardness on imbibition and germination.The hardness degree of S.japonica seeds was classified by soaking the seeds in hot water with different initial temperatures(75℃,80℃,85℃,90℃)for 24 hours.The results showed that the imbibition rate of large seeds was higher than that of small seeds,and the imbibition rate decreased with the increase of hardness.Seed size had no significant effect on the germination rate,germination index and average germination time,but the biomass and above-ground biomass of the seedlings formed by large seeds were higher than those of small seeds.With the increase of hardness,the germination rate,germination index and vigor index gradually decreased,and the average germination time gradually increased,while the initial soaking temperature of 75℃ had a high seedling biomass.In terms of the germination rate,the germination rate of large seeds decreased with the increase of hardness,while that of small seeds exhibited a unimodal response.Therefore,seed size and hardness are important factors affecting the germination of S.japonica seeds,and selecting large seeds with low hardness can significantly improve the germination ability.
Keywords：Sophora japonica L.seed sizehardness degreeseed germinationseedling biomass
Publication Date：2025-06-28
Online Publishing Date：2026-05-22(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：8( 7-14 )