seed germination temperature experiment

Seed Germinator

What goes on underground when seeds are sprouting? Make yourself a window into the process of plant development.

• Quick-germinating seeds, such as radish or Wisconsin Fast Plants®
• Paper towel or coffee filter
• Large petri dish with lid, or an old CD case with clear sides (if you’re using a CD case, open it and remove the plastic insert that holds the CD, being careful not to break the case)
• Lidless, straight-sided plastic container wide enough to set the petri dish or CD case inside, on its edge, as shown in the photo
• Two rubber bands big enough to fit around the open container
• Metric ruler with millimeter markings
• Magnifying glass

• Soak the seeds overnight in water.
• Set aside the top of the petri dish, or open the CD case. Cut the paper towel (or coffee filter) to fit inside.
• With a ruler and pencil, draw a straight line across the middle of the paper towel. Lay the marked-up paper in the bottom of the dish (or inside the CD case) so the line sits horizontally across the center. If you’re using a CD case, be sure the hinged edge is at the top or side (not bottom).
• Pour a little water into the dish to wet the paper towel. Smooth out any bubbles and tip out any extra water not absorbed by the paper. Later, when you stand the dish on its edge, the wet paper should remain stuck to the inside of the dish or CD case.
• Place 6 to 10 seeds on the paper towel, evenly spaced along the reference line. Then put the lid on the petri dish, or close the CD case.

• Pour water into the container to a depth of about 1 inch (2 to 3 cm). The water should seep into the petri dish or CD case and contact the paper towel, keeping it moist as the seedlings begin to sprout.
• Put your seed germinator in a warm place (room temperature or slightly higher), away from direct sunlight.

Check on your seeds once or twice a day, and notice what changes or emerges (see photo below). (It’s fine to open the seed germinator; just handle it carefully so the seeds don’t move.) Do shoots with green tips emerge first, or do white roots emerge first? Do each seed’s roots and shoots sprout in the same direction, or in different directions? Use a magnifying glass to examine the growing structures in more detail. How do they change over time?

Measure the growth of the roots and shoots over time. You may want to collect data to graph average root length vs. time, and average shoot length vs. time. (Note that it’s helpful to measure time in total elapsed hours, rather than days.) Which grows faster, the shoots or the roots?

Inside a seed is the embryo of a plant, plus a food source for that embryo, all contained within a protective seed coat. Here, you can observe seed germination, in which the embryo begins to digest the food and grow into a seedling. While this process usually happens in soil, the key component for germination is water.

At appropriate temperatures, most seeds begin their germination by absorbing water through a tiny hole in the seed coat. The moisture starts the metabolic processes of the embryo that’s contained within the seed. When hydrated by absorption of water, enzymes in the seed are activated. They begin digesting the food stored inside to generate energy for the embryo’s growth.

The developing root emerges from the seed first. As the root grows longer and thicker, it develops tiny root hairs, which help the developing plant take up water and nutrients. Shoots with pale-green leaflike structures emerge after the roots. Eventually, these leaves will turn a deeper green color and begin to photosynthesize, capturing and storing light energy and carbon dioxide from the air.

Photosynthesis in leaves supplies the plant with the energy and matter it needs to grow. Newly germinated seedlings, however, are not yet photosynthesizing. Instead, in early stages of growth, the embryo digests and assimilates the energy and matter from the food present in the seed. Depending on the type of seed, this food store contains a mixture of proteins, fats, sugars, and starches. This stored food isn’t just important to the developing plant embryo; it’s also important to human diets. About 45 percent of the calories humans consume globally comes from seed grains like rice, wheat, and corn.

A common misconception is that plants get their mass from soil. In this soil-free experiment, you can prove to yourself that plants don’t strictly require soil to grow. In fact, many plants grow very well hydroponically in water cultures, as long as the appropriate nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are provided. Your seedlings will eventually need more space than the seed germinator can provide, but given the right lighting conditions, they’ll begin to photosynthesize, accumulating mass from the carbon dioxide in the air and the water you provide.

This seed germinator makes it easy to design and perform experiments to determine the materials and conditions seeds need in order to germinate and grow. The effects of temperature, light levels, and water conditions (such as pH or salinity), as well as the presence or absence of various nutrients are all factors you can investigate. Experimenting with the position and lighting of the seed germinator can help you determine the conditions necessary for roots to grow down, and for shoots to grow up. Do roots sense gravity? Do they sense light? Or are they affected by other factors?

This Science Snack is part of a collection that showcases LGBT artists, scientists, inventors and thinkers whose work aids or expands our understanding of the phenomena explored in each Snack.

Jennifer Nemhauser (she/her) is a queer and pansexual biologist. She is a faculty member in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington and studies how plants use signaling networks to change the shapes of their bodies to make the best of particular environments. She hopes that if she can learn how plants control division, growth, differentiation, communication, and death, she can help breed the next generation of more resilient crops. Prior to her faculty position at the University of Washington, she completed her doctoral work in auxin and flower development and post-doctoral work in hormone interactions in seedling development. Jennifer feels as though she expresses her queer identity the most in the ways she works to build a distinctly queer scientific culture within her lab group—an effort that is reflected in the large number of LGBTQIA+ students and postdocs that have found a home there. Make yourself a window into the process of plant development with the Seed Germinator Science Snack.

As noted in the What’s Going On? section above, this experiment can be used to begin investigating where a plant’s mass comes from. To do this, weigh the seeds before you soak them. Allow the seedlings to grow under good light conditions for several days, so they begin to accumulate mass through photosynthesis. Then take them out, let them dry, and check their mass again. Comparing the initial mass of the seeds to the dry mass of the germinated seedlings can help show students that a plant’s mass does not come from soil or water.

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Seed Germination Experiment

Watching seeds grow is an amazing science project for kids! Our  seed germination experiment allows kids to see up close to how a seed grows! Learn about the steps of seed germination, and investigate what conditions a seed needs to germinate. Easy science experiments are great for kids of all ages!

Seed Germination In A Jar

Also check out our list of other fun science experiments you can in do a jar! >>> Science in a Jar

• Paper Towels or cotton wool
• Seeds (see our suggestions above)

H ow To Set Up Your Seed Experiment

STEP 1:  Fill the jar with paper towels. Kids can fold them and push them down into the jar. This is also great work for little hands.

STEP 2:  Gently water your seed jar to wet the paper towels. DO NOT FLOOD IT!

STEP 3:  Carefully push seeds down into the paper towels around the edge of the jar so they can still be seen. Make sure they are firmly held in place.

TIP: One easy way to get your seeds to germinate faster is to presoak them in a shallow container of warm water for up to 24 hours. That will soften the hard outer shell of the seed. Don’t soak for longer as they may go moldy!

Our mason jar below includes sunflower, pea, and green bean seeds!

STEP 4: Put your jar in a safe place, and check in regularly to observe any changes.

It all starts with a single seed!

Watching how a seed grows and using a mason jar gives you a front-row seat for observing it all! Sprouting seeds is perfect for a spring STEM activity !

Another fun way to sprout seeds, especially at the end of winter, is with a mini greenhouse made from plastic bottles.

What Is Seed Germination?

First, let’s learn a bit more about germination. Seeds grow into a new plant through a process called germination. Germination is the sprouting of the seed or the very beginning of plant growth.

Availability of water, cold temperatures or warm temperatures, oxygen, and light exposure may all be a factor in starting germination or keeping the seed dormant. What conditions are needed for germination will vary between plants, as each has adapted to the biome in which they live.

Stages of Seed Germination

First, the seed absorbs water. This causes the seed to swell and the outer coating to break. Then the seed starts to break down some of the food that is stored in it. Most seeds will need oxygen in the air in the soil for this to happen.

Eventually, when the seed has grown leaves it can make its own oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis .

Once the seed coat breaks open, the first root grows, called the radicle. In almost all plants, the root comes before the shoot.

Once the root starts to grow, it can now absorb water and nutrients from the soil, instead of getting it from the seed coat.

After the root, the plant’s stem starts to grow. When it reaches above the ground, the leaves begin to grow. This is when the plant no longer has to rely on the stored starch (cotyledon) that comes from the seed.

Turn It Into A Science Project

This simple seed experiment is a great introduction for preschoolers to growing plants , and a fun plant experiment for older kids to investigate what conditions seeds need to germinate.

Older kids can use a science experiment worksheet to write down their observations about how the seeds are growing. While young kids can draw or observe the changes!

There are so many fun questions you can ask…

• Do seeds need light to germinate?
• Does the amount of water affect seed germination?
• Do different types of seeds germinate under the same conditions?
• Does salt water affect seed germination?

Explore how fast different seeds germinate by comparing different kinds of seeds under the same conditions. We tried sunflower seeds, peas, and beans in our seed jar.

Or keep the type of seed the same and set up two mason jars to explore whether seeds need light to germinate. Place one jar where it will get natural light and one in a dark cupboard.

Another idea is to investigate whether seeds need water to germinate and how much. Set up three jars, and measure out how much water goes into each so that one is fully wet, half wet and one has no water.

Learn more about the scientific method for kids and using variables in science experiments!

Free Printable Bean Life Cycle Worksheets

Extend the learning of this hands-on project with this free bean life cycle mini pack !

How To Observe Seed Growth

Get your magnifying glass out and check out all the angles of the seeds. Can you find the different stages of seed germination described earlier?

What do you see in your seed jar?

• You are looking for a root to pop out of the side.
• Next, you are looking for a root to push down into the soil.
• Then, you are looking for root hairs.
• Next, look for the seed to push up while the root hairs push down.
• Lastly, you are looking for the shoots to come up!

The mason jar gives a stunning view of this seed experiment! My son loved being able to see the changes so easily.

More Fun Plant Activities For Kids

Looking for more plant lesson plans? Here are few suggestions for fun plant activities that would be perfect for preschoolers and elementary kids.

Learn about the apple life cycle with these fun printable activity sheets!

Use art and craft supplies you have on hand to create your own parts of a plant craft .

Learn the parts of a leaf with our printable coloring page.

Use a few simple supplies you have on hand to grow these cute grass heads in a cup .

Grab some leaves and find out how plants breath with this simple plant experiment.

Learn about how water moves through the veins in a leaf.

Find out why leaves change color with our printable lapbook project.

Watching flowers grow is an amazing science lesson for kids of all ages. Find out what are easy flowers to grow!

Printable Spring Activities Pack

If you’re looking to grab all of the printables in one convenient place plus exclusives with a spring theme, our 300+ page Spring STEM Project Pack is what you need!

Weather, geology, plants, life cycles, and more!

58 Comments

This is what we should have done – instead we tried plastic bags to grow the seeds in, and they got foggy with condensation so it was hard to see the root! Aw, well. Lesson learned. Next time – grow them in a jar! lol!

We just started our beans in a jar last week. Looking forward to seeing what happens this week.

We’ve just done the same 🙂 Put the beans in the jar instead plastic bags 🙂 Mr Frog is so excited observing the bean growing!

Wonderful learning activity! Thanks for linking up at the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop!

My girlie is very curious about planting and asks tons of questions about the seeds and what happens with them in the soil. This is a great way to show her clearly enough the whole process of the seed’s growing. Thank you for this idea!

What kind of pea seeds did you use?

Good question. I don’t remember the band or name but it was a common package from the store.

This looks like so much fun! Can’t wait to try with my 4 and 2 year old son and daughter. We’re always looking for affordable, educational and fun activities. This is perfect. Happy to have stumbled onto this site!

Do you cover the jar? Do they need to be near a sunny window? Are you supposed to water them? Thanks!

Wonderful! Thank you!

Hi! I did not cover the jar. They were on a table in front of window that did get sunlight at some point during the day. We did not water daily. I added a tiny bit here and there but not much at all. We actually went away for a week and came back to them being so tall which you can see in the picture above. Thats a week with no water what so ever!

What kind of beans did you use? Pinto? I’m wanting to start this activity here soon with my little in-home daycare. 🙂

We used green beans, sunflowers, and green peas!

Just double checking no soil, just paper towels. This is our spring break project. I can’t wait.

Right no soil!

hello! I’m going to try this with my kindergarten class. Did you use dried green beans infrom a bag (like at the supermarket)? Or fresh ones?

Where did you get your seeds? Did you buy them fresh and pick the seed out off the pods or take it out of the shell? I’m interested in doing this but I don’t want to buy the wrong ones.

Simple seed packets from the grocery store!

that was so cool

What a great learning activity. I am featuring this with a link on my blog.

We are getting ready to start this project today with our preschool class. One thing i have not been able to find is, how much water/how wet do the paper towels need to be?’

super cool!!!

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U just use dried peas you get in a box steep them over night then plant them absolutely excellent outcome 4 kids and grown ups alike lol

Interesting! Share a picture!

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you teach me something thanks very much.

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besides seed jar science is there anything else that kids can do?

What do you mean? Feel free to email me [email protected]

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I cant wait to try this out with the 4 year old children at the our Early Learning Centres I am grateful to have found this page. Thank you so much.

At any point do you add soil to the jar or transfer the plant out so it can grow bigger? If transferring, what’s the best way to move them out of the jar and into a pot? What stage of growth should they be at before doing so? Does this method work for any type of seeds? This is perfect for the plant project I want to start with my in-home daycare but I wanted to use seeds from foods they eat and can replant as a way of incorporating recycling into the other lessons learned but I’m new to all of this including being a first time mom/in-home daycare owner and have lots of questions lol! Thank you in advance for your time, patients, and wisdom! 🙂

You could potentially transfer it! We did not. You wouldn’t add soil to the jar though. Makes a great experiment to see if it takes outside or in a pot!

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Since we are getting to spring, a seed germination jar is a perfect activity. Thanks

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How to Germinate Seeds: Vegetable Seed Germination Temperature Chart

Improving seed germination for better results!

Become a better gardener! Discover our new Almanac Garden Planner features for 2024. It’s easy, fun, and free to try !

How can you ensure all your seeds germinate? We’ll share our 10 surefire tips for seed-starting success. Plus, find a Seed Germination Chart with ideal soil temperatures for all your common vegetables. We also share charts on how long seeds are viable and which seeds are worth soaking.

Before we get started, we wanted to address a common question …

Do Seeds Need Light to Germinate?

 No. When it comes to sowing vegetables and herbs indoors, seeds do NOT need light to germinate. They require darkness. (Conversely, most flower seeds need light.) 

Read Next

Using seedling heat mats to start seeds indoors, what to plant in april: best vegetables to sow, 10 best vegetables to sow in late winter.

Cover the seed with the germination medium based on what the seed packet directs (usually 1/4 to 1/2 inch). Note: There are two vegetables—onions and celery—that are lightly covered with soil medium but should be as close to the soil surface as possible and not too deep in the soil.   When it comes to vegetables and herbs that are better seeded directly outside (not started inside), the same rule is true. Almost all crops are best seeded in darkness; the exception is lettuce, which should be lightly pressed into the soil but not covered.

Wondering which seeds are best started indoors versus directly sown outside? See our complete guide on how and when to start seeds indoors .

10 Tips on How to Improve Germination Success

1. Get the Temperature Right

One of the biggest mistakes many of us make is sowing at the wrong temperature. But by sowing at the right time of year and keeping the potting mix close to the “sweet spot” for the seeds you’re sowing, you can improve germination rates—and speed.

This table shows the range of ideal germination temperatures for some of our most popular crops. You can see the dramatic difference in needs between cool-season vegetables like cabbage, parsnip, peas, and spinach and warm-season or frost-susceptible crops such as beans, melons, and peppers.

By keeping temperatures in the optimal range, you can really “up” your germination wins.

Ideal Seed Germination Temperatures for Popular Crops

You can clearly see the difference between cool-season vegetables and warm-season (or frost-susceptible) crops.

Cool-Season Crops

With the optimal temperature range for most cool-season staples beginning from around 45 to 50 Fahrenheit or 7 to 10 Celsius, you can see why delaying sowing in a cold spring makes sense for these veggies: Beet, Cabbage, Carrot, Celery, Chard, Lettuce, Onion, Parsnip, Pea, Spinach, Turnip

It is better to wait until the soil is consistently above those temperatures than try to start too early. Of course, this is where cloches and row covers can help because they essentially shift the whole growing season and those soil temperatures forward by as much as two weeks.

Warm-Season Crops

Warm-season favorites, on the other hand, need minimum temperatures more like 60 to 70 Fahrenheit or 16 to 21 Celsius. It’s one reason why, in a cool or temperate climate, we need to sow these veggies indoors or with the aid of some heat: Beans, Corn, Celery, Cucumber, Eggplant, Melon, Peppers, Squash & Pumpkin, Tomato.

For example, if you sow chile peppers and pop them on a heat mat to germinate, they’re pretty similar in size after one week as chile pepper seeds were sown three weeks ago with no heat.

Not everyone has a heat mat or heated propagator, but there are likely to be warm areas in your home that fit the bill. Have a look around – perhaps you could place seeded pots or trays near a radiator or above a fireplace, or maybe a gas boiler, furnace, or something like that. Include a minimum-maximum thermometer in your chosen location so you can keep an eye on temperatures and check how close to those optimum temperatures you are.

Once germinated, nearly all seedlings will grow best with daytime temperatures between 65 and 70°F and nighttime temperatures a few degrees cooler.

2. Soak Your Seeds

In addition to warmth, seeds need air and, of course, moisture to germinate. Soaking before planting can soften the tough outer coating that seeds have, making it easier for that all-important moisture to penetrate and speed up germination.

Soaking is super straightforward. Take a clean jar or bowl and fill it with warm-to-the-touch water— comfortably warm but not so hot it burns, as that won’t be great for the seeds either! Drop them in, then leave for eight to 12 hours; I find soaking overnight works well. Make sure the seeds are properly submerged; just poke them under or wrap them in a paper towel first and then pop them into the water. What the paper towel does is soak up the water, which then helps to weigh the seeds down. Sow your seeds immediately after soaking; don’t delay.

Seeds that benefit from soaking include larger seeds like squash, beans, peas, and beets, and it’s even worth soaking garlic cloves and onion sets to plump them up in preparation for planting. Sometimes, you can see the impact this has. Compare peas that have been soaked for 12 hours and drained off versus those that haven’t been soaked, and you’ll see the difference.

Soaking isn’t recommended for all seeds. While it may not do any harm, soaking tiny seeds like lettuce or basil will just cause them to clump together, making sowing fiendishly tricky!

3. Rough Up Your Seeds

We don’t condone violence, but a little targeted roughing up could be just what’s needed to persuade your seeds to get a move on!

Here’s another way to breach that tough seed coat.

• For larger seeds like nasturtium, try filing down or wearing down the seed coat, using something like a nail file, or roughening the seeds up between sheets of sandpaper. This process of breaking down the seed coat has got a pretty cool name: ‘scarification.’ In the wild, this would naturally happen as seeds bump up against rocks or other abrasive things in the soil.
• For flatter seeds like squash seeds, just nick the rounded edge of the seed several times using nail clippers to break off some of that woody outer coating. Take care that you’re only nicking the seed coat and not damaging the interior of the seed. Create an entry point for moisture. Then, soak these seeds and sow them, dramatically hastening germination and reducing the risk of seeds just languishing and potentially rotting away.

For peas and beans, you could nick the seed case with a sharp knife, nicking it at the opposite side to the little eye you can make out here. And once you’ve scarified your seeds and soaked them, you’re good to sow… promptly so they don’t dry out.

4.  Power Up with Peroxide  

An alternative, perhaps unexpected, way to boost germination is to soak seeds in hydrogen peroxide. That might sound extreme – none of us like to use nasty chemicals – but hydrogen peroxide is quite benign, as you can see from its chemical formula, H2O2 – which means it breaks down safely into little more than water and oxygen.

It seems crazy – this stuff is normally used for dying hair or treating wounds – but it’s awesomely effective at treating seeds, too. Let me show you.

I’ve got two cups of water here, which is half a liter, to which I’m adding a quarter cup or around 60ml of hydrogen peroxide solution. Make sure what you buy is in the range of about 1-3% concentration, which is normally how it’s sold – you don’t want it any stronger than that anyway. Now stir it all up, add your seeds, then leave to soak for just half an hour. Once the time’s up, continue soaking in plain water for up to 12 hours as usual.

You want this stuff to go far, and a great way to do that is to pop your seeds and hydrogen peroxide solution into ice cube trays – allocating one compartment to one type of seed. Just make a note of what’s in which compartment, or you could get confused and unstuck pretty quickly!

5. Moisture Matters

Some potting mixes, especially seed-starting mixes, can get dust-dry if the bags they’re in aren’t properly rolled down after each use. Seeds need moisture to germinate, so dried-out mixes need careful preparation before sowing.  However, we don’t just want to plunge it into a bucket and water-log the mix either because over-wet soil can cause small seeds to rot.

Some mixes seem to positively repel moisture and stay on the surface without draining through. The simple solution is to pre-moisten dry mixes by spreading out what you need onto a tray and then watering or spraying the mix and massaging all that moisture in till you have a good, consistent moisture level.

Try to match the potting mix you use with the size of the seed you’re sowing. Larger seeds will be fine with an all-purpose potting mix, but you’re best sieving it to leave a finer particle size for smaller seeds.

Potting mixes on heat mats or under grow lights dry out far quicker than those that aren’t, so check pots and trays every single day – no excuses – and be disciplined on keeping everything moist. Remember, if seeds have started to germinate but then can’t get enough water to continue growing, they may well falter and fail – and we don’t want that!

6. Keep Humidity Up Before Germination

Covering seeds with a humidity dome or clear plastic wrap is a great way to retain some of that vital moisture, though this needs to be removed once the seedlings are up to reduce the risk of disease taking advantage of the humid conditions.

7. Use Warm Water

When you do water, use warm water if possible. Water that’s warm to the touch won’t shock your seeds. Particularly for warm-season crops, using warmer water will help keep that soil temperature up, so we’re not checking precious progress by suddenly cooling it with chilly water straight out of the tap. At the very least, draw your water, then leave it to come up to room temperature before using it.

8. Sow at the Right Depth

Most seeds benefit from light, which means sowing them at the correct depth so enough light can penetrate the soil or potting mix to reach the seeds beneath. In most cases, this means sowing seeds so they’re buried to the equivalent of one seed diameter’s depth. Some seeds, especially tiny ones, must be sown on the surface of the soil. If in doubt, just check the seed packet instructions.

9. Use Viable Seed

A seed needs to be viable if it’s going to germinate. Old seeds can give patchy results, especially if they haven’t been stored properly. Check seed packets for packing and sow-by dates, which are usually displayed on the back – if you haven’t accidentally ripped it off when opening the packet! If you’re saving your seed, bear in mind how long seeds tend to remain good for – this table will help. 

Viable Seed Chart

10. Pre-Sprout Seeds

Many gardeners like to use this method to germinate seeds that tend to be tricky to get started, too. Pre-sprouting (also called hitting) seeds like this can improve overall germination rates, giving you tiny, ready-to-go seedlings for planting at their final spacings.

It can be hard to transplant seedlings of things like parsnips, but pre-sprouting means you know how many seedlings you’re growing and can plant them straight away without any transplant shock. It also saves having to sow thickly and then thin out.

This is a popular technique for vegetables, including parsnip, chard, cilantro or coriander, cabbage, and pretty much all warm-season crops like tomatoes, peppers, and squash.

We hope this will prove a handy reference as sowing gets underway this spring. If you’re craving even more seed-starting inspiration, see our complete guide on “ How and When to Start Seeds Indoors .” 

Catherine Boeckmann

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I have never purchased a lettuce seed packet that works the next year!

I'm pretty much a flower gardener with the occasional tomato plant purchased from a nursery. This is an excellent article about vegetable seeds and I think I may want to try it next summer, as I will be away a lot of this summer. I'm not sure if I will be able to, because I have a wrap-around porch and don't get much sun in the windows and I also do not have a greenhouse. It's a bit daunting for someone like me!

I wanted to just tell you what a fantastic article I think this is! I have been gardening for 4 years and have learned most of what you delineate here from trial and error after reading other material that is not quite as clear as this...what a useful resource for new gardeners!

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Factors affecting seed germination (e.g. soil, temperature, pH)

Introduction: (initial observation).

If you have ever planted some seeds, you may have noticed that some seeds do not germinate.

A good quality seed is the first step toward producing a good crop. If the seed does not germinate, the cost of seed and all related plantation and irrigation costs will be a loss for the farmer. Scientists and farmers continuously try to identify any possible factor that may affect seed germination in order to have a higher rate of germination. The rate of germination is one of the key elements in determining the quality and value of any seed.

Seeds that do not germinate are wasted and will gradually become a part of other organic maters in the soil.

This project guide contains information that you need in order to start your project. If you have any questions or need more support about this project, click on the “Ask Question” button on the top of this page to send me a message.

If you are new in doing science project, click on “How to Start” in the main page. There you will find helpful links that describe different types of science projects, scientific method, variables, hypothesis, graph, abstract and all other general basics that you need to know.

Project advisor

Please note that you will only select one of the above factors to research on. You will need to adjust this project guide and it’s experiments based on the factor that you choose to study. So, the actual title of your project will be one of the following:

The effect of pH on seed germination or

The effect of temperature on seed germination or

The effect of soil on seed germination

If you decide to study on more than one factor, you need to repeat your experiments for each factor that you study. You will also have a separate hypothesis for each factor.

Other similar research topics that can be performed using the steps provided in this project guide:

• The effect of light on seed germination
• The effect of UV on seed germination
• The effect of fertilizers on seed germination
• The effect of mold on seed germination
• The effect of salt (or any other chemical that you choose) on seed germination.

Information Gathering:

Find out about what you want to investigate. Read books, magazines or ask professionals who might know in order to learn about the effect or area of study. Keep track of where you got your information from.

Review the definition of seed germination. Learn about any other research performed by others on seed germination. Also learn about the seed that you want to study. The result of your experiments is only valid for the type of seed that you choose to study. You can not generalize the results and propose a conclusion that covers all different types of seeds. You may also want to modify the title of your project to cover the name of seed that you study. For example if you choose to study on lettuce seed, you may change the title of your project to one of the following:

The optimum pH for germination of lettuce seed or

The optimum temperature for germination of lettuce seed

If you don’t have much time for your project, you should select one of the fast germination seeds. Following are some fast germinating seeds:

Rapid Germination Seeds (assuming ideal moisture and temperature)

Where to find more information:

http://forest.wisc.edu/forestry415/TreeStructure/flowers/germ.htm

http://www.marijuanasignpost.com/guides/seedgerm.html

Seed Germination and Fruit Types

The Seed Biology Place

Question/ Purpose:

What do you want to find out? Write a statement that describes what you want to do. Use your observations and questions to write the statement. Depending on your final choice of project title, following are some sample questions:

• The purpose of this investigation is to identify the best pH for the germination of lettuce seed.
• The purpose of this investigation is to know the best temperature for germination of lettuce seed.

Identify Variables:

When you think you know what variables may be involved, think about ways to change one at a time. If you change more than one at a time, you will not know what variable is causing your observation. Sometimes variables are linked and work together to cause something. At first, try to choose variables that you think act independently of each other. Depending on the question/purpose of your project following are two sample of identifying variables:

• The independent variable is the pH. Dependent variable is the rate of germination. Controlled variables are light, temperature, soil, moisture, seed specification such as moisture, size, etc..
• The independent variable is the temperature. Dependent variable is the rate of germination. Controlled variables are light, pH, soil, moisture, seed specification such as moisture, size, etc..

Hypothesis:

Based on your gathered information, make an educated guess about what types of things affect the system you are working with. Identifying variables is necessary before you can make a hypothesis. Following are some sample hypothesis:

• I think the neutral pH is the best pH for seed germination. This hypothesis is based on my study of seed and the fact that a large part of seed is food that plant needs during germination period. So I think if the seed has it’s own food to germinate, it must also have all necessary minerals and other chemicals needed at a proper pH. Another hypothesis for pH effect: I think a slightly acidic pH such as pH 4 is the best pH. Slightly acidic pH can prevent growth of mold and other fungus that may damage seed. Also slightly acidic pH will dissolve more minerals from the soil and make them available to the plant.
• I think that temperature around 72º F is the best temperature for seed germination because this is the average weather temperature in the spring when most plants emerge. Another hypothesis for temperature effect: I think a temperature around 80º F up to 90º F is best temperature for seed germination. My hypothesis is based on my gathered information that indicates chemical and biochemical reactions will accelerate by heat. Also excess heat can be harmful to live organisms, so the temperature range of 80º F to 90º F which is almost the summer time temperature can be the best temperature for seed germination.

Experiment Design:

Design an experiment to test each hypothesis. Make a step-by-step list of what you will do to answer each question. This list is called an experimental procedure. For an experiment to give answers you can trust, it must have a “control.” A control is an additional experimental trial or run. It is a separate experiment, done exactly like the others. The only difference is that no experimental variables are changed. A control is a neutral “reference point” for comparison that allows you to see what changing a variable does by comparing it to not changing anything. Dependable controls are sometimes very hard to develop. They can be the hardest part of a project. Without a control you cannot be sure that changing the variable causes your observations. A series of experiments that includes a control is called a “controlled experiment.”

Experiment 1:

Seed Observation experiment (this is just a warm-up experiment)

Soil is an environment that provides moisture and oxygen to the seed. If the seed is under a layer of soil, we will not be able to observe the progress of seed germination. That is why we need to use other methods of seed plantation for our experiments. In this experiment we use a plastic sandwich bag and paper towel for seed germination. We expect that plastic bag will keep moisture and oxygen in the environment. Paper towel will keep moisture around the seed, otherwise seeds may get fully submerged or be in dry section of the bag.

Materials needed:

• a resealable plastic sandwich bag
• paper towel or napkin
• a cup of water
• a packet of pea or bean seeds

Soak seeds in a cup of water overnight.

Sprinkle water on the paper towel or napkin so it’s wet but not dripping.

Put the wet paper towel and the seeds in the sandwich bag, make sure you can see the seeds without opening the bag.

Seal the bag. Place the bag in a warm safe place away from direct sunlight (so it doesn’t get too hot). Check it several times a day, open it for a few seconds to give the seeds air. Then seal it to keep the moisture in. If the paper looks dry, open the bag and sprinkle more water, then make sure it’s sealed.

Soon, you’ll see the baby plant start growing and developing!!

One way to keep track of what happens to your seed is to draw it once a day. Make your first drawing of the seed before you soak it.

You can also try another experiment. Repeat the above experiment with seeds that you didn’t soak. When you do the experiment, think like a scientist. Scientists ask themselves questions. Here are some questions you could ask yourself when you do one of these experiments: Do you think the two kinds of seeds will germinate differently? How will they be different?

After you do one experiment, some other questions may come up. They might be answered by another experiment. Some suggested experiments:

• prepare two identical bags, place one in the dark and one in the light.
• prepare two identical bags. In one of the bags, place the seeds so the radicle faces toward the ceiling. In the other, place them so the radicle faces the floor.
• prepare two identical bags. Once a day, rotate the seeds in one of the bags, let the other bag sit still.

Feel free to try different experiments. Just remember, test one thing at a time and always prepare a control bag (one that you don’t change anything). That way you can compare the two bags to see if you made a difference.

Experiment 2:

The effect of UV radiation on seed germination:

In this project we want to see the effect of exposure to UV radiation in seed germination. We think that UV light might have some sterilization effect on the seed and prevent growth of harmful bacteria and mold on the seed, resulting a higher rate of germination. We are also worried that UV exposure may cause biological damage to seed that can prevent seed germination. (Note that this introduction also serves as hypothesis for this experiment.)

• Expose 10 of the selected seeds to the UV light for a period of 5 minutes. CAUTION!!! UV light can damage both your eyes and skin. Use all recommended safety precautions. We recommend adult supervision for this step.
• Take one piece of paper towel and fold it in half, and then in half again. Place the folded paper towel in the bottom of the plastic container.
• Pour approximately 15 milliliters of water over the paper towel. The entire paper towel should be wet, but without extra water in the bottom of the container. Should you need more water, use it, but measure and record so that you can use similar amounts with all other seed containers.
• Use your tweezers to place the 10 seeds on the paper towel. Make 2 rows of seeds with five seeds in each row.
• Put the lid on the container and snap it on tight to preserve the moisture.
• Label the container using masking tape. List the length of time the seeds were exposed to UV light, the date, and type of seeds (if using more than one type).
• Place the container in an out of the way place where it will not be disturbed. A warm, dark location such as a closet or under the bed would be ideal. However, handle the container with care so the seeds don’t slide all over.
• Repeat steps 1 through 7 with the only variation being an increased time of exposure to UV light. The first exposure was 5 minutes so we recommend trying 10, 15, 30, 60 and 120 minutes.
• Repeat steps 2 through 7 with 10 seeds to be your control. DO NOT expose these last seeds to UV radiation.

Making Your Observations

• Take a daily look at your seeds and check for any sign of a “sprout” or “emerging radicle” coming out of the seed. Seeds have germinated when they get such “sprouts”. Some of the sprouts might grow so fast that you can see the seed’s stem and roots with tiny hairs. Use a magnifying glass and enter illustrations of these sprouts in your log book as soon as you see evidence of them.
• By the seventh day any seeds that are going to sprout will have done so. At this time you should COUNT the number of seeds for which you can see the sprout coming out of the seed, even if it’s very small. A broken seed coating does not count if there is no sprout.
• Record the number of seeds germinated in each container.
• Measure the combined stem and root length of each “sprout” with a metric ruler and record their lengths in millimeters. Construct a table for this data for each container.

Your data/results table may look like this:

Make a graph:

You can make two different bar graphs to visually present your results.

For the germination ratio graph make one vertical bar for each exposure time starting 0 or no exposure up to 120 minute exposure. The height of each bar will represent the ratio of seeds germinated in that group.

For the speed of germination and growth graph make one vertical bar for each exposure time. The height of each bar will represent the average length of seedling (combined stem and root length) in the group.

Experiment 3:

The effect of pH on seed germination

In this experiment you use solutions of different pH from 2 to 11 instead of pure water. Handling low pH and high pH solutions requires goggles and other safety precautions as well as adult supervision.

• Prepare 10 solution with 10 different pH in 10 different bottles. Label all bottles with the pH of the solution in that bottle. Use acetic acid to lower the pH and use ammonia to increase the pH. It is good if you use pHs of 2 to 11. Use pH meter or pH paper to adjust the pH in each bottle.
• Pour approximately 15 milliliters of first solution (pH=2) over the paper towel. The entire paper towel should be wet, but without extra water in the bottom of the container. Should you need more water, use the same solution, but measure and record so that you can use similar amounts with all other seed containers.
• Put the lid on the container and snap it on tight to preserve the moisture. Label the container using masking tape. List the pH of the solution, the date, and type of seeds (if using more than one type).
• Repeat steps 1 through 7 with the only variation being the pH of water solution.
• Repeat steps 2 through 7 with 10 seeds to be your control. DO NOT adjust the pH of this last group. Use regular tap water or distilled water.

For the germination ratio graph make one vertical bar for each pH, starting the control and then 1 to 11. The height of each bar will represent the ratio of seeds germinated in that group.

For the speed of germination and growth graph make one vertical bar for each pH, starting with the control and then 1 to 11. The height of each bar will represent the average length of seedling (combined stem and root length) in that group.

Experiment 4:

The effect of temperature on seed germination

This experiment is similar to experiment 2. The difference is that you will not expose any seeds to UV radiation, instead you place your containers in locations with different temperatures. The challenge for this investigation is how to create different temperatures and keep them constant for up to 7 days.

In laboratories incubators are used for temperatures higher than room temperature and refrigerators are used for temperatures lower than room temperature. Incubators usually are not available for students who want to perform such experiments at home. However other places can be found at home that have higher or lower temperature than room temperature.

Get a thermometer and check the temperature in different locations inside your refrigerator and different locations in your basement or backyard or any other place that may have a relatively constant temperature. Decide which of these locations you want to use and place your samples in these locations. Label each container with the temperature of location that you choose to place.

In all of the above experiments you can use petri dishes instead of plastic bags and plastic containers. Petri dish cap will keep moisture inside while you can observe the seeds without removing the caps.

The picture on the right shows different bean seeds in before and after germination.

Recording Data:

Count the total number of seeds in each group and the number of seeds germinated on that group. Enter them in the the table. Divide the number of germinated seeds by the total number of seeds in each group and write the result in the Germination Ratio column.

You can use a bar graph to visually present your results. Make one vertical bar for each group. The height of the bar will show that ratio of the germination.

Variations of this experiment:

Instead of the rate of germination (the germinated ratio) you may want to measure and record the speed of germination. In this case you will measure the overall height of seedlings (from root to the shoot) in each group after a certain number of days (usually 7 days or 10 days). Then you take an average of the results in each group and write that in your results table and use that to make a graph.

Materials and Equipment:

Material and equipment that you may need for projects in this page are:

• Plastic containers with lids.
• Masking tape and marker for labeling containers.
• Paper towels and tap tap water.
• Zip lock plastic bags
• Graduated cylinder or other measurement device for water measurement.
• Latex Gloves or tweezers for seed handling (Don’t touch the seeds to avoid infection of seeds by the bacteria of your hand)
• A supply of 100 or more radish seeds (or other fast germinating seeds of your choice)
• Access to a UV light (if a UV light cannot utilized from your school’s science lab, check both the local hardware store and local flower/garden shops. Borrow or rent if possible as UV lights could cost $35-$40 or more. UV lights are also known as black light)
• Acetic acid and ammonia solution.

Depending on the subject and experiments that you choose you may not need all the above.

Results of Experiment (Observation):

Experiments are often done in series. A series of experiments can be done by changing one variable a different amount each time. A series of experiments is made up of separate experimental “runs.” During each run you make a measurement of how much the variable affected the system under study. For each run, a different amount of change in the variable is used. This produces a different amount of response in the system. You measure this response, or record data, in a table for this purpose. This is considered “raw data” since it has not been processed or interpreted yet. When raw data gets processed mathematically, for example, it becomes results.

Record the results of your experiments in tables like this:

Effect of pH on the rate of germination of lettuce seeds: (Just an example)

Comments in the table cells is what you observe on a daily bases. Last row shows the rate of germination

Calculations:

You will need to calculate the rate of germination by dividing the number of germinated seeds by the total number of seeds in each test container.

Summary of Results:

Summarize what happened. This can be in the form of a table of processed numerical data, or graphs. It could also be a written statement of what occurred during experiments.

It is from calculations using recorded data that tables and graphs are made. Studying tables and graphs, we can see trends that tell us how different variables cause our observations. Based on these trends, we can draw conclusions about the system under study. These conclusions help us confirm or deny our original hypothesis. Often, mathematical equations can be made from graphs. These equations allow us to predict how a change will affect the system without the need to do additional experiments. Advanced levels of experimental science rely heavily on graphical and mathematical analysis of data. At this level, science becomes even more interesting and powerful.

Can you make a better display?

When you report the result of your experiments, you may also create a chart or graph to provide a visual representation of the final results. Following is a sample that shows the rate of germination of different seeds. (So dependent variable has been the type of seed instead of pH or temperature)

Conclusion:

Using the trends in your experimental data and your experimental observations, try to answer your original questions. Is your hypothesis correct? Now is the time to pull together what happened, and assess the experiments you did.

You may try soil instead of paper towel in your experiments. You may also use the germinated seeds or fully grown plants as a part of your display.

Related Questions & Answers:

What you have learned may allow you to answer other questions. Many questions are related. Several new questions may have occurred to you while doing experiments. You may now be able to understand or verify things that you discovered when gathering information for the project. Questions lead to more questions, which lead to additional hypothesis that need to be tested.

Possible Errors:

If you did not observe anything different than what happened with your control, the variable you changed may not affect the system you are investigating. If you did not observe a consistent, reproducible trend in your series of experimental runs there may be experimental errors affecting your results. The first thing to check is how you are making your measurements. Is the measurement method questionable or unreliable? Maybe you are reading a scale incorrectly, or maybe the measuring instrument is working erratically.

If you determine that experimental errors are influencing your results, carefully rethink the design of your experiments. Review each step of the procedure to find sources of potential errors. If possible, have a scientist review the procedure with you. Sometimes the designer of an experiment can miss the obvious.

References:

List of References

It is always important for students, parents and teachers to know a good source for science related equipment and supplies they need for their science activities. Please note that many online stores for science supplies are managed by MiniScience.

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Science Project

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Effects of temperature and salinity on seed germination of three common grass species.

• 1 State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
• 2 Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium

Temperature and salinity significantly affect seed germination, but the joint effects of temperature and salinity on seed germination are still unclear. To explore such effects, a controlled experiment was conducted, where three temperature levels (i.e., 15, 20, and 25°C) and five salinity levels (i.e., 0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mmol/L) were crossed, resulting in 15 treatments (i.e., 3 temperature levels × 5 salinity levels). Three typical grass species ( Festuca arundinacea , Bromus inermis , and Elymus breviaristatus ) were used, and 25 seeds of each species were sown in petri dishes under these treatments. Germination percentages and germination rates were calculated on the basis of the daily recorded germinated seed numbers of each species. Results showed that temperature and salinity significantly affected seed germination percentage and germination rate, which differed among species. Specifically, F. arundinacea had the highest germination percentage, followed by E. breviaristatus and B. inermis , with a similar pattern also found regarding the accumulated germination rate and daily germination rate. Generally, F. arundinacea was not sensitive to temperature within the range of 15–25°C, while the intermediate temperature level improved the germination percentage of B. inermis , and the highest temperature level benefited the germination percentage of E. breviaristatus . Moreover, F. arundinacea was also not sensitive to salinity within the range of 0–200 mmol/L, whereas high salinity levels significantly decreased the germination percentage of B. inermis and E. breviaristatus . Thus, temperature and salinity can jointly affect seed germination, but these differ among plant species. These results can improve our understanding of seed germination in saline soils in the face of climate change.

Introduction

Seed germination is a fundamental stage in the life cycle of a plant ( Bewley, 1997 ; Nimbalkar et al., 2020 ). Seed germination is significantly affected by both physical and biological factors such as temperature and species identity ( Larsen et al., 2004 ; Bewley et al., 2013 ; Zhang et al., 2020 ). Soil salinization is one of the major drivers of soil degradation ( Zhang et al., 2015a ; Gorji et al., 2017 ), and it can significantly affect seed germination and the following stages such as seedling establishment ( Khan and Gulzar, 2003 ; Qu et al., 2008 ). Over 900 Mha land is impacted by salinity in the whole world ( Rengasamy, 2006 ; Shiade and Boelt, 2020 ). Climate change such as extreme warming is expected to be more frequent in the future ( Khan and Qaiser, 2006 ; Blackport and Screen, 2020 ; Bai et al., 2021 ). Such change could significantly affect seed germination ( Walck et al., 2011 ; Mondoni et al., 2012 ). Soil salinization could become more serious in the face of climate change because global warming generally increases evaporation, which can promote soil salinization ( Utset and Borroto, 2001 ). Therefore, salinity and temperature would jointly affect seed germination, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas of northeastern China, where the soil salinization area covers over 70% of the total land area ( Wang et al., 2011 ). Moreover, several species are facing population reductions due to human disturbances and climate change ( Richmond et al., 2007 ; Ureta et al., 2012 ; Gu et al., 2018 ). Thus, exploring seed germination under the ongoing soil salinization and global warming is important in assessing the stability of plant community.

Theoretically, the seed germination of each species has an optimal temperature, under which seeds could germinate better than under other temperatures. Previous studies found that salinity decreased seed germination of some species compared with non-saline conditions ( Khan and Gulzar, 2003 ; Qu et al., 2008 ). However, the impact of salinity on seed germination might be modified by temperature, as Gorai and Neffati (2007) found that negative effects of salinity on seed germination were less severe at the optimum temperature, as the additional environmental stress at low or high temperatures would thus be alleviated ( Al-Khateeb, 2006 ). Yet, Khan and Ungar (2001) found that the effect of salinity was stronger at lower temperatures, while Delesalle and Blum (1994) revealed that such effect was stronger at higher temperatures. Finally, Khan and Ungar (1998) showed that the effect of salinity was not affected by temperature in their experiment. Thus, the joint effects of salinity and temperature on seed germination are still unclear ( Fernandez et al., 2015 ; Lin et al., 2018 ).

In response to local salinity and suboptimal temperatures, plant species developed different strategies, including adjusting germination percentage or germination rate through modifying seed dormancy and/or seed viability ( Ungar, 1995 ; Khan et al., 2001 ; Khan and Ungar, 2001 ; Shahba et al., 2008 ; Guan et al., 2009 ). Such responses can further alter seedling establishment and seedling growth ( Gu et al., 2018 ; Del Vecchio et al., 2021 ). Exploring the effects of salinity and temperature on seed germination may shed light on understanding the mechanisms of species coexistence. However, studying such effects under natural conditions is difficult since (1) soil conditions such as temperature and salinity vary spatially and temporally ( Hermans et al., 2016 ), which makes it difficult to keep a constant level of temperature or salinity. (2) Other environmental variables such as radiation and soil moisture hamper separating the roles of temperature and salinity from these factors ( Khan and Ungar, 1997 ; De Boeck et al., 2015 ; Borja et al., 2016 ; Bhatt et al., 2020 ). (3) Some particular species in a community such as halophytes and xerophytes may skew the results, where halophytes can modify their strategies (e.g., reduce seed germination percentage or delay the start of germination under the high level of salinity) to adapt to different salinity levels ( Gulzar and Khan, 2001 ; Khan and Gul, 2006 ; El-Keblawy et al., 2020 ), and xerophytes can grow well under conditions with a large variation of temperature ( Zhang et al., 2015b ).

To explore the joint effects of temperature and salinity on seed germination of grass species with less confounding factors ( Figure 1 ), a controlled experiment was thus conducted. Three typical grass species ( Festuca arundinacea , Bromus inermis , and Elymus breviaristatus ) widely used as forage species ( Lu et al., 2008 ) that can be potentially grown in saline soils were exposed to three levels of temperature and five levels of salinity. Specifically, (1) we expect seed germination in general to be the highest at the intermediate level of temperature (20°C), which is thought to be closest to the optimal temperature for seed germination for such grasses ( Romo and Eddleman, 1995 ; Lu et al., 2008 ; Zhang et al., 2013 ). (2) We assume that seed germination would consistently decrease with increasing salinity ( Wu et al., 2015 ; Zhang and Dai, 2019 ). (3) We anticipate that the intermediate (and supposed optimum) temperature level would alleviate the negative effects of salinity on seed germination ( Gorai and Neffati, 2007 ).

Figure 1. The expected effects of temperature (three levels: low, medium, and high) and salinity (five levels: no, low, medium, high, and extreme) on seed germination, where “+” and “–” refer to the positive and negative effect, respectively. More “+” or “–” indicates a stronger effect.

Materials and Methods

Experimental design.

To explore the effects of temperature and salinity on seed germination, an experiment was conducted at the Yuzhong Campus of Lanzhou University, China (104°09′44″N, 35°56′55″E) from 6 April to 25 April 2021. Three levels of temperature (i.e., 15, 20, and 25°C) and five levels of salinity (i.e., NaCl concentration 0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mmol/L) were created to simulate the future climatic conditions. Note that these temperature and salinity levels were set in line with previous studies ( Lu et al., 2008 and Zhang et al., 2013 for temperature levels; Yang et al., 2009 and Li et al., 2019 for salinity levels). Three target grass species ( F. arundinacea , B. inermis , and E. breviaristatus ) were exposed to these 15 treatments. A recent study reported that different varieties of a species responded differently to salinity stress ( Shiade and Boelt, 2020 ). However, this study aimed to explore the responses of seed germination of different species to the joint effects of temperature and salinity, not of varieties of specific species. Seeds of the three species used in our experiment were bought from a commercial company (Best, Beijing, China). Further information can be found in Table 1 . Twenty-five seeds of each species were applied in each treatment. All seeds were evenly sown in petri dishes with two sheets of filter paper (diameter 7 cm). The filter paper was saturated with saline solutions (around 5 mL) and kept stable during the experiment.

Table 1. Information of the seeds applied in this experiment.

Three incubators (LRH-250-G, Illuminating Incubator) were used, and each of them was set at one of the three applied temperature levels. Petri dishes with the five salinity levels were randomly stored in each of these chambers. These petri dishes were covered with lids at the beginning of the experiment, and they were removed after the germination of the seeds since lids impeded the growth of these seedlings. Five replicates were used per treatment, resulting in 225 petri dishes (i.e., 3 species × 3 temperature levels × 5 salinity levels × 5 replications) in total. Note that the seed germination test was conducted according to the rules of the International Seed Testing Associations ( ISTA, 2018 ), and the germinated seeds in each petri dish were daily recorded. Seeds were treated as germinated when the radicle was more than 2 mm long ( Shiade and Boelt, 2020 ). This experiment was ended when there was no additional germination for 3 days.

Data Analysis and Statistics

Germination percentage (GP) was calculated by dividing the germinated seed number by the total seed number in each petri dish along the experimental period. Accumulated germination rate (AGR) and daily germination rate (DGR) in each petri dish were calculated by the following two equations:

AGR = (∑ G P i )/ i , where i is the day after seed set in these chambers;

DGR = the newly germinated seed number per day/25 in each petri-dish.

To explore the seed germination during the experiment, four separate analyses were conducted. First, repeated-measures ANOVA was used to explore the differences of GP, AGR, and DGR among the target species. Second, repeated-measures ANOVAs were applied to investigate the effects of temperature, species, and their interactions on the GP. Third, repeated-measures ANOVAs were employed to test the effects of salinity, species, and their interactions on the GP. A significant effect of species was found in the second and third analyses. Thus, separate repeated-measures ANOVAs analyses were conducted for each species, where temperature (or salinity), time, and their interaction were treated as variables. Fourth, MANOVA was performed to examine the impacts of temperature, salinity, species and their interactions on the GP, AGR at the last day of the experiment, and the average DGR during the experiment. Note that time (i.e., the germination date) was treated as an extra factor in these analyses except the last one.

Curve estimations were conducted to explore the relationships between salinity and GP separated by temperature, where linear, quadratic, power, and exponential curves were tested. A better model was identified with a lower Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and a significant P -value. All statistics were performed with SPSS 23.0 ( IBM Corp, 2015 ).

In the first analysis, GP, AGR, and DGR varied within species, germination date, and species × germination date interaction ( Table 2 and Figure 2 ). On average, the GP of F. arundinacea was higher than that of E. breviaristatus and B. inermis , and the GP of E. breviaristatus was in turn higher than that of B. inermis ( Figure 2A ). Such a pattern was also found for AGR ( Figure 2B ) and DGR ( Figure 2C ). B. inermis germinated faster at the beginning of the experiment, while its germination decreased faster than the other two species during the experiment ( Figure 2C ). The interaction effect between species and germination date was likely caused by the convergence of the seed germination ( Figure 2 ).

Table 2. Effects of species, time, and their interaction in repeated-measures ANOVA of germination percentage (GP), accumulated germination rate (AGR), and daily germination rate (DGR).

Figure 2. The germination percentage (A) , accumulated germination rate (B) , and daily germination rate (C) of the three target grass species ( Festuca arundinacea , Bromus inermis , and Elymus breviaristatus , labeled as red, orange, and blue color, respectively) along time (i.e., the germination date). Note that these figures are derived from the average data of the three temperature levels and five salinity levels.

In the second analysis, on investigating the effects of species, temperature, and their interaction on GP, the three target species demonstrated different responses ( Table 3 and Figure 3 ). The GP of F. arundinacea was not sensitive to the relatively high levels of temperature ( Figure 3A ). The GP of B. inermis was highest at the intermediate temperature level ( Figure 3B ), and the GP of E. breviaristatus was highest at the highest temperature level in this study ( Figure 3C ).

Table 3. Effects of species, temperature, time, and their interactions in repeated-measures ANOVA of germination percentage, which was separated by species since it was a significant factor.

Figure 3. Seed germination percentages of Festuca arundinacea (A) , Bromus inermis (B) , and Elymus breviaristatus (C) under different temperatures as a function of salinity levels. Note that all these significant equations are non-linear, so P -values are given.

In the third analysis, on testing the effects of species, salinity, and their interaction on GP, the three target species likewise showed different patterns ( Table 4 and Figure 3 ). The GP of F. arundinacea was not sensitive to relatively low levels of salinity. However, the other two species showed a different pattern, where the higher salinity levels decreased the GP of B. inermis , while the intermediate level of salinity increased. The GP of E. breviaristatus consistently decreased with increasing salinity levels. Moreover, the intermediate temperature level (i.e., 20°C) × lowest salinity level (i.e., 0 mmol/L) generated the highest GP for F. arundinacea , while the highest temperature level (i.e., 25°C) × lowest salinity level (i.e., 0 mmol/L) generated the highest GP for B. inermis and E. breviaristatus ( Figure 4 ).

Table 4. Effects of species, salinity, time, and their interactions in repeated-measures ANOVA of germination percentage, which was separated by species since it was a significant factor.

Figure 4. The joint effect of temperature and salinity on seed germination of Festuca arundinacea (A) , Bromus inermis (B) , and Elymus breviaristatus (C) as a function of time (i.e., the germination date). Note that T1–T3 refer to the three temperature levels, that is, 15, 20, and 25°C, respectively, while N1–N5 reflect the five salinity levels, that is, 0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mmol/L, respectively.

Finally, exploring the effects at the last day of the experiment, species, temperature, salinity, species × temperature, species salinity, and species × temperature × salinity significantly affected GP, AGR, and DGR ( Table 5 and Figure 4 ), while there were no significant temperature × salinity effects at this measurement data.

Table 5. Effects of temperature, salinity, species, and their interactions in MANOVA of germination percentages (GP), accumulated germination rate (AGR), and daily germination rate (DGR).

The first hypothesis stated that seed germination would be the highest at the intermediate level of temperature. This was partly supported as such a pattern was found in one of the target plant species (i.e., B. inermis , Figure 3B ), where lower germination was found at lower temperatures. This is partly consistent with the finding of Ao et al. (2014) , where seed germination of B. inermis was low at lower temperatures. Note that such a pattern was not found in the other two target species. For F. arundinacea , temperature levels in this study may have all been in the optimal temperature range of this species ( Lu et al., 2008 ), while for E. breviaristatus , the optimal temperature of seed germination might have been higher than the temperature levels we set ( Figure 3C ).

Our second hypothesis aimed to test whether seed germination would be reduced at higher levels of salinity. This was supported as seed germination of the three target species was generally lower at higher salinity levels, even though they responded inconsistently to the salinity gradient ( Figure 3 ). Such results are in line with previous studies on the target species F. arundinacea ( Shiade and Boelt, 2020 ), B. inermis ( Yang et al., 2009 ). and E. breviaristatus ( Li et al., 2019 ), and on other species such as Helianthus annuus ( Wu et al., 2015 ), Oryza sativa ( Xu et al., 2011 ), and Zea mays ( Khodarahmpour et al., 2012 ). Such results could be related to the effects of ion toxicity on seed germination ( Panuccio et al., 2014 ). The different responses of plants to salinity are likely caused by the genetic traits of these species ( Vu et al., 2015 ; Chamorro et al., 2017 ) and their growing conditions ( Mira et al., 2017 ).

The last hypothesis focused on the joint effects of salinity and temperature on seed germination, and we expected that the negative effect of salinity on seed germination would be alleviated at the intermediate level of temperature. This was supported by our findings in one of the three target species ( B. inermis , Figure 3B ), where the germination percentage of B. inermis at the intermediate temperature level was higher than at the other two temperature levels, and the germination percentage decreased more slowly with increasing salinity compared with the other two temperature levels. This is in line with the finding of Gorai and Neffati (2007) , where the negative effect of salinity on seed germination was alleviated at the optimum temperature. However, the other two species did not show such a pattern.

Results of this study should be interpreted and extrapolated with caution because of the following two reasons. One is that NaCl solutions in this study might evaporate at different rates when they were set under different temperatures during the experiment ( Sayer et al., 2017 ), and this may affect the ultimate salinity level and thus the ensuing results. The other is that each level of temperature was kept constant during the experiment in this study, while previous studies found that variation of temperature can benefit seed germination ( Liu et al., 2013 , 2017a ; Spindelböck et al., 2013 ; Burghardt et al., 2016 ). Moreover, soil resources such as soil temperature and salinity vary a lot even at a short distance in natural conditions ( Maestre et al., 2003 ; Lundholm, 2010 ). Thus future studies on seed germination should consider the heterogeneous distributions of these factors, potentially in combination with other aspects of soil heterogeneity (e.g., Liu et al., 2017b , c , 2019 ; Liu and Hou, 2021 ).

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author Contributions

YL designed the study, conducted the analyses, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. SZ collected the data. All authors contributed significantly to the manuscript.

This work was supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Forestry and Grassland Administration of Ningxia. Hui Autonomous Region, China “Study on Construction Mode and Key Technology of Grassland Ecological Civilization Demonstration Area in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region”. YL holds a start-up fund from Lanzhou University (508000-561119213).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Yan Zhang, Sixia Liu, and Qingyu Du for the experimental assistance. We would also like to thank Zhixia Ying for her valuable comments on the earlier versions of this manuscript.

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Keywords : germination percentage, germination rate, grass species, salinity, temperature

Citation: Liu Y, Zhang S, De Boeck HJ and Hou F (2021) Effects of Temperature and Salinity on Seed Germination of Three Common Grass Species. Front. Plant Sci. 12:731433. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.731433

Received: 27 June 2021; Accepted: 12 November 2021; Published: 10 December 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Liu, Zhang, De Boeck and Hou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Yongjie Liu, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Many students I know struggle to find a good idea for science fair projects and sometimes wait until the last minute to do their experiments. We in the Education Department of the Chicago Botanic Garden are committed to helping make science fair a painless and even fun learning experience for students, parents, and teachers by offering some simple ideas for studying plants.

A no-brainer botany project is testing germination of radish seeds in different conditions. Radish seeds are easy to acquire, inexpensive, large enough to see and pick up with your fingers, and quick to germinate under normal conditions. Testing germination does not take weeks, doesn't require a lot of room, and is easy to measure—just count the seeds that sprout!

To set up a seed germination experiment, use this basic procedure

Gather three or more small plates, depending on how many ways you will be treating your seeds.

Place a folded wet paper towel on the plate.

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Cover with a damp paper towel; label the plates.

Treat the seeds the same way in every respect except for one thing: the condition you are testing. That condition is your "independent variable," which may also be called the "experimental variable." No matter what you are testing, one plate should be set up with the basic directions and no treatment. That plate is the "control" that all the other plates can be compared with.

When the seeds sprout root and leaves, remove the top paper towel. Compare the number of seeds that germinate and the time it takes for seeds in each condition. You should be able to wrap this up in less than a week.

Now all you need are some ideas for conditions to test.

Here are eleven questions you can investigate at home or school using the same basic procedure

1. Do seeds need light to germinate?

Place your plates of seeds in different light conditions: one in no light (maybe in a dark room or a under a box), one in indirect/medium light (in a bright room, not near the window), and one in direct light (by a south-facing window). Compare how well the seeds germinate in these conditions.

2. Do seeds sprout faster if they are presoaked?

Soak some seeds for an hour, a few hours, and overnight. Place ten of each on a germination plate, and and compare them with ten dry seeds on another plate.

3. Does the room temperature affect germination rate?

You'll need a thermometer for this one. Place seed plates on a warming pad, in room temperature, and in a cool location. Monitor temperature as well as germination rate. Try to ensure that the seeds have the same amount of light so it's a fair test of temperature and not light variation.

4. Do microwaves affect germination?

Put seeds in the microwave before germinating and see if this affects them. Try short bursts, like one and two seconds as well as ten or 15 seconds, to see if you can determine the smallest amount of radiation that affects seed germination.

5. Does pH affect germination rate?

Wet the paper towels with different solutions. Use diluted vinegar for acidic water, a baking soda or mild bleach solution for alkaline conditions, and distilled water for neutral.

6. Does prefreezing affect the seed affect germination?

Some seeds perform better if they have been through a cold winter. Store some seed in the freezer and refrigerator for a week or more before germinating to find out if this is true for radishes or if it has an adverse affect.

7. Does exposure to heat affect germination rate?

Treat your seeds to heat by baking them in the oven briefly before germinating. See what happens with seeds exposed to different temperatures for the same amount of time, or different amounts of time at the same low temperature.

8. How is germination rate affected by age of the seeds?

You can acquire old seeds from a garden store (they will be happy to get rid of them), or maybe a gardener in your family has some old seeds hanging around. Find out if the seeds are any good after a year or more by germinating some of them. Compare their germination rate to a fresher package of the same kind of seed.

9. Do seeds germinate better in fertilized soil?

Instead of using the paper-towel method, sprout seeds in soils that contain different amounts of Miracle-Gro or another soil nutrient booster.

10. Does scarification improve germination rate?

Some seeds need to be scratched in order to sprout—that's called "scarification." Place seeds in a small bag with a spoon of sand and shake for a few minutes and see if roughing them up a bit improves or inhibits their germination.

11. Does talking to seeds improve their germination rate?

Some people claim that talking to plants increases carbon dioxide and improves growth. Are you the scientist who will show the world that seeds sprout better if you read stories to them? Stranger discoveries have been made in the plant world.

That eleventh idea may seem silly, but sometimes science discoveries are made when scientists think outside the seed packet, so to speak. Students should design an experiment around whatever question interests them—from this list or their own ideas—to make the research personal and fun. As long as students follow the scientific method, set up a controlled experiment, and use the results of the experiment to draw reasoned conclusions, they will be doing real science. The possibilities for botanical discovery are endless, so get growing!

Author: Kathy Johnson Job Title: Youth Programs Director Published: Sep 18, 2013 Category: Learning

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Temperature and seed germination

Affiliation.

• 1 Department of Agriculture, University of Reading, Earley Gate, UK.
• PMID: 3077854

Temperature can affect the percentage and rate of germination through at least three separate physiological processes. 1. Seeds continuously deteriorate and, unless in the meanwhile they are germinated, they will ultimately die. The rate of deterioration depends mainly on moisture content and temperature. The Q10 for rate of loss of viability in orthodox seeds consistently increases from about 2 at -10 degrees C to about 10 at 70 degrees C. 2. Most seeds are initially dormant. Relatively dry seeds continuously lose dormancy at a rate which is temperature-dependent. Unlike enzyme reactions, the Q10 remains constant over a wide range of temperature at least up to 55 degrees C, and typically has a value in the region of 2.5-3.8. Hydrated seeds respond quite differently: high temperatures generally reinforce dormancy or may even induce it. Low temperatures may also induce dormancy in some circumstances, but in many species they are stimulatory (stratification response), especially within the range -1 degree C to 15 degrees C. Small, dormant, hydrated seeds are usually also stimulated to germinate by alternating temperatures which typically interact strongly and positively with light (and often also with other factors including nitrate ions). The most important attributes of alternating temperatures are amplitude, mean temperature, the relative periods spent above and below the median temperature of the cycle (thermoperiod) and the number of cycles. 3. Once seeds have lost dormancy their rate of germination (reciprocal of the time taken to germinate) shows a positive linear relation between the base temperature (at and below which the rate is zero) and the optimum temperature (at which the rate is maximal); and a negative linear relation between the optimal temperature and the ceiling temperature (at and above which the rate is again zero). The optimum temperature for germination rate is typically higher than that required to achieve maximum percentage germination in partially dormant or partially deteriorated seed populations. None of the sub-cellular mechanisms which underlie any of these temperature relations are understood. Nevertheless, the temperature responses can all be quantified and are fundamental to designing seed stores (especially long term for genetic conservation), prescribing germination test conditions, and understanding seed ecology (especially that required for the control of weeds).

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• Published: 09 June 2022

Influence of environmental factors on seed germination and seedling characteristics of perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne L.)

• Muhammad Mansoor Javaid 1 ,
• Athar Mahmood 2 ,
• Dalal S. Alshaya 3 ,
• Muneera D. F. AlKahtani 3 ,
• Hasnain Waheed 1 ,
• Allah Wasaya 4 ,
• Sher Aslam Khan 5 ,
• Maria Naqve 6 ,
• Imran Haider 1 ,
• Muhammad Adnan Shahid 7 ,
• Muhammad Ather Nadeem 1 ,
• Saira Azmat 8 ,
• Bilal Ahmad Khan 1 ,
• Rashad Mukhtar Balal 9 ,
• Kotb A. Attia 10 &
• Sajid Fiaz 4  

Scientific Reports volume  12 , Article number:  9522 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

• Natural variation in plants
• Plant physiology
• Plant stress responses

Information regarding the germination and seedling growth behavior of a potential weed species is an important tool to manage weeds without the use of agricultural chemicals that cause harmful effects on human health and the environment. A series of experiments were directed to investigate the influence of different environmental factors (temperature, pH, NaCl, moisture stress, and seed burial depth) on germination and seedling emergence of perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne L.) under controlled conditions. Results suggested that 25 °C is the optimum temperature for maximum germination (95%) and seedling growth of perennial ryegrass, however, a quick decline was observed at 35 °C. Seed germination was unaffected by pH levels ranging from 5 to 10. The 92% seed germination was recorded where no salt stress was applied and germination was reduced by 87% at 250 mMNaCl concentration. Seed germination was unaffected by osmotic potential ranges from 0 to − 0.4 MPa thereafter declined and completely inhibited at − 0.8 or − 1.0 MPa. No seed emerged at the soil surface or a soil depth of 6 or 7 cm and 90% emergence occurred at 1 cmsoil depth. The germination and seedlings parameters like time to initial germination, mean germination time, time taken to 50% germination and germination index, root and shoot length, and fresh and dry weight of root and shoot are significantly affected with the environmental factors. The information obtained in this study will be helpful to develop better management strategies for germination and the emergence of perennial ryegrass in areas where it has the ability to rapidly colonize.

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Introduction.

Perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne L.) is an important pasture and forage weed that often grows in temperate regions and it is native to Europe and Africa 1 , 2 , 3 . Perennial ryegrass has little or no juvenility and can be vernalized in the seed 4 The Inflorescence of perennial ryegrass is un-branched; each spikelet has only one glume and 4 to 14 florets without awns. Though it was introduced by pastoralists as cultivated species for livestock grazing and fodder but from sown pastures, it has spread to occupy footpaths, roadsides, sand dunes, river beds, and waste places. In many parts of the world, the species is considered an environmental weed as it has many weedy characteristics like rapid adaptation to the environment, producing a large number of seeds, and is easily dispersed 5 . Due to high seed production and effective dispersal capacity, perennial ryegrass has the ability to rapidly colonize new areas where conditions are favorable.

The germination and emergence of weed seeds are two of the most critical phases in plant development and determine the success of a weed in an agro-ecosystem 6 . Germination and emergence are mediated by various environmental factors such as temperature 7 , pH 6 , NaCl 8 , water stress and seed burial depth 6 . Previous studies showed that initiation or inhibition of seed germination is dependent on these factors 9 , 10 , 11 . It is further claimed that temperature is a main determinant of germination when other factors are not limiting and temperature effects are variable for species within the genera 12 . Moisture stress may delay, reduce or prevent the weed seed germination however, the ability of weed seeds to germinate under low moisture conditions gives them a competitive advantage, which enables them to outcompete the germination or growth of many corps. The pH influenced the germination of seeds and availability of nutrients but several weed species tolerate a varied range of pH levels 13 . Weed seed location in the soil affected germination and emergence 6 , by affecting moisture, light and temperature 11 . According to Javaid et al. 14 seed burial depth and food reserves are the most important factors affecting seed germination. Salinity is one of the main problems of soil degradation. Osmotic and ionic effects occur due to salinity that inhibits plant growth 15 . The seed germination affected by salinity depends upon the type of species and environmental characteristics 16 and a reduction in germination was seen when the salt concentration exceeds a threshold level 10 , 17 . Salt stress generally decreases the germination percentage and retards the onset of germination. Overall germination of several species may be influenced more by low osmotic potential than by specific ion effects 18 . The specific ion effect strongly inhibited radicle growth and effective seedling formation depending on the frequency and the total rainfall to germinate and grow 19 .

A little work has been done on the germination ecology of this weed. The ecology information can play a key role in developing management or control programs, otherwise, control measures can be wasted. Therefore, the present research was planned to investigate the impact of temperature, soil pH, NaCl concentration, osmotic stress and seed burial depth on seed germination and seedling growth of perennial ryegrass. This information can help to characterize the germination niche and the habitat in which it is likely to germinate and develop.

Materials and methods

Site description and collection of seed.

The experiments were performed in the Laboratory of Agronomy Department, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan (32.0°N and 72.6°E) in 2018. Mature seeds were collected during March 2017 and 2018 from several fallow farms in Layyah, and Sargodha Punjab, Pakistan, and a bulked sample was prepared. At the time of collection, seeds were collected by breaking the stem of the plant about 10 cm in length with a spike each year separately. After that paper bags were used to transport the seeds into the laboratory, seeds were detached from the spike of the plant, cleaned, and air-dried at room temperature for 7 days.

Working samples were drawn from the composite sample. After that seeds were kept in air-tight glass bottles until used in the germination experiments.

General germination test protocol

Before the commencement of subsequent germination or emergence tests, seeds of perennial ryegrass were sterilized in 1% sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) for 5 min and then rinsed with distilled water 5 times 20 . Germination of perennial ryegrass was determined by placing 20 seeds in a Petri plate of 9 cm diameter having a Whatman filter paper No. 10, moistened with 3 mL distilled water or the applicable treatment solution 14 . Para-film was used to seal the Petri plates to prevent the loss of water. The Petri plates were kept in a germination cabinet (Seedburo Equipment Company, Chicago, IL, USA). Cool white fluorescent bulbs (FL40SBR; National, Tokyo, Japan) were used to produce a photosynthetic photon flux density of 200 µmol m −2  s −1 , set to a 12-h alternating light/dark cycle for all the experiments. All experimental trials were performed at the day and night temperature of 25 °C except for the temperature experiment. Seeds were conceived to be germinated when the radicle attained 2 mm in length. The germinated seeds were counted daily for 30 days. However, in the experiment of seed burial depths, when cotyledon was visible at the soil surface then seedlings were considered to have emerged. Each experiment was repeated twice using the seeds collected in two different years. Each treatment was replicated four times in each experiment.

Impact of temperature

To investigate the impact of temperature on germination of perennial ryegrass, twenty seeds were placed uniformly in a Petri plate, lined with filter paper beneath the seed moistened with distilled water of 3 mL and then retained in an incubator at constant temperatures of 20, 25, 30 and 35 °C for 15 days.

Impact of pH

The impact of pH on seed germination of perennial ryegrass was evaluated by using buffer solutions of pH 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 which were made according to the method defined by Chachalis and Reddy 21 . A 2 mM solution of MES [2-( N -morpholino) ethanesulfonic acid] was adjusted to pH 5 or 6 with 1 N hydrochloric acid (HCl), and a 2 mM solution of HEPES [ N -(2-hydroxy-methyl) piperazine- N -(2-ethanesulfonic acid)] was adjusted to pH 7 or 8 with 1 N NaOH. Buffer solutions of pH 9 and 10 were prepared with 2 mM TRICINE [ N Tris (hydroxymethyl) methylglycine] and adjusted to each respective pH value with 1 N NaOH. Unbuffered deionized water (pH 6.2) was used as a control.

Impact of salt stress

To determine the influence of salt stress on seed germination of perennial ryegrass 20 seeds were placed in the sealed Petri dishes containing various sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations at 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 mM. However, distilled water was used as a control treatment.

Impact of osmotic stress

Perennial ryegrass seeds were placed in Petri plates with the osmotic potential of 0, − 0.2, − 0.4, − 0.6, − 0.8 and − 1.0 MPa. Osmotic potentials were made by using polyethylene glycol (PEG 8000; Sigma-Aldrich Co., 3050, Spruce St., MO 63130) in distilled water. The equation described by Michel and Kaufmann 22 was used for the calculation of water potential from a known concentration of PEG 6000. Distilled water was used as the control treatment.

Water potential = − (1.18 × 10 –2 ) C − (1.18 × 10 –4 ) C 2  + (2.67 × 10 –4 ) 18 CT + (8.39 × 10 –7 ) C 2 T. Where: T represents the temperature in centigrade while C is the PEG concentration.

Impact of seed burial depth

The impact of seed burial depth on seed emergence was investigated in the greenhouse at the College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan. Twenty seeds of perennial ryegrass were placed on the soil surface or covered with soil (30% silt, 30% clay and 40% sand) at sowing depths of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in 15 cm diameter of plastic pots. In the entire experiment, the greenhouse temperature was maintained at 25 ± 2 °C during the day and night. Pots were watered as and when required to maintain sufficient soil moisture. Seedlings were considered to have emerged when cotyledons were visible at the soil surface.

Germination or emergence percentage data of perennial ryegrass obtained from the experiments regarding osmotic stress, NaCl concentration and seed burial depth, were subjected to non-linear regression analysis. Germination percentage data at various concentrations of osmotic potential and NaCl were fixed to a 3-parameter logistic model by using software Sigma Plot 2008 (version 11.0, SyStat Software GmbH, Schimmelbuschstrasse 25 D-40699 Erkrath Germany)). The fitted model was:

where G is the total germination percentage at concentration x , x 50 is the osmotic potential or NaCl concentration for 50% suppression of the maximum germination and g denotes the slope and G max is the maximum germination percentage.

A three-parameter logistic model:

was fixed to the seedling emergence percentage gained at various burial depths of 0 to 7 cm, where E is the total seedling emergence percentage at burial depth x , x 50 is the burial depth for 50% suppression of the maximum seedling emergence and e denotes the slope, E max is the maximum seedling emergence percentage.

Time to initial germination or emergence (Ti) was noted when the first seed germinated or seedling emerged. The time taken to 50% germination or emergence ( T 50 or E 50 ) was estimated by using a formula described by Coolbear et al. 23 :

where N is the final number of sprouted or emerged seeds, and n j and n i are the cumulative number of seeds germinated by adjacent counts at times t j (day) and t i , (day), respectively, when n i  <  N / 2  <  n j .

Mean germination or emergence time ( MGT or MET ), which is a measure of the speed of germination or emergence, was calculated after Ellis and Roberts 24 :

where n is the number of seeds that had germinated on day D and n is the number of days counted from the beginning of the germination experiment.

The germination or emergence index ( GI or EI ), which is a measure of the percentage and rate of germination was calculated as described by the Association of Official Seed Analysis 25 using the following formula:

Data regarding root length (cm), shoot length (cm), root fresh weight (g) root dry weight (g), shoot fresh weight (g) shoot dry weight of perennial ryegrass was collected throughout the study by using standard procedures.

Statistical analysis

All the experiments were carried out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications and each experiment was repeated twice. The collected data were subjected to one-way ANOVA. The significance of treatment means was practiced by using the least significant difference (LSD) test at a 5% level of probability 26 .

Research ethics

Experimental research and field studies on plants (either cultivated or wild), including the collection of plant material, complied with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines and legislation. Prior permission was undertaken from farm owner and Offices of Research, Innovation and Commercialization, University of Sargodha, Pakistan.

Germination (%) of perennial ryegrass varied significantly in response to tested temperature (Fig.  1 ). The highest germination percentage of perennial ryegrass was observed at 25 °C. The germination at 20 and 30 °C temperatures were statistically similar. However, a strong reduction in germination was seen when the temperature was raised to 35 °C and reduces the germination by 85% compared to 25 °C.

Influence of temperature on germination of perennial ryegrass. Nails on the vertical bars represent the standard error of the means.

The time to initial germination (Ti) of perennial ryegrass was 1 to 2 days earlier at 25 °C than other tested temperatures and was 2 days. The slowest Ti was measured at 30 °C (Table 1 ).

The minimum time to reach 50% of the maximum germination ( T 50 ) was recorded at 25 °C and the lowest mean germination time ( MGT ) was measured under the same temperature. The germination index ( GI ) represents the rate of germination and the highest GI was observed at 25 °C (Table 1 ). The seedlings' growth of perennial ryegrass was affected significantly by tested temperatures (Table 2 ).

Among all the temperatures, the length, fresh and dry weight of root and shoot was maximum at 25 °C followed by 20 °C temperature and minimum values of these parameters were observed at 35 °C (Table 2 ).

The pH did not affect seed germination of perennial ryegrass and germination remained more than 87% within pH range of 5 to 10 (Fig.  2 ).

Influence of pH on germination of perennial ryegrass. Nails on the vertical bars represent standard error of the means.

The higher seed germination of perennial ryegrass under a varied range of pH showed that pH would not be a limiting factor for its germination. However, the highest and lowest seed germination was recorded at pH 6 and 8, respectively (Fig.  2 ). The shortest Ti was observed at pH 7 and control (pH 6.2) (Table 1 ). The lowest and highest T 50 were measured at the control and pH 8, respectively, however, a similar trend was also observed for MGT.

Data in Table 2 specified that maximum root length and fresh weight were attained at control (pH 6.2). The root dry weight was non-significant. There was no deviation in root length of perennial ryegrass from pH 5–8. The minimum values of root length and fresh weight were recorded at pH 10. However, the peak value of shoot length, fresh weight and dry weight of perennial ryegrass were recorded at pH 5 (Table 2 ).

Impact of NaCl

A 3-parameter sigmoid model (G (%) = 85.7 [1 + (x/170.6) 4.2 ], R 2  = 0.96) was fixed to the germination data of perennial ryegrass in response to various concentrations of NaCl (Fig.  3 ). The model showed that seed germination was reduced linearly with a rise in NaCl concentration from 0 to 250 mM. The highest seed germination was recorded where no salt stress was applied. Only 15% germination was observed at 250 mM NaCl concentration.

Influence of NaCl concentration on seed germination of perennial ryegrass. Bold line represents a three-parameter logistic model (G (%) = G max /[1 + (x/x 50 ) g ]) fitted to the data. The vertical dash line represents X-axis value at 50% of the maximum germination. Dotted liens show 95% confidence intervals. Vertical bars represent ± standard error of the mean.

No germination was seen at 300 mM NaCl concentration (Fig.  3 ). The model estimated that 50% germination of the maximum occurred at 170.6 mM NaCl concentration. Compared to control, Ti of perennial ryegrass was postponed nearly to 1 day at 50, 100, 150, 200 and nearly to 5 days at 250 mM NaCl concentration (Table 1 ). The T 50 and MGT were greater in control (distilled water) as compared to each NaCl concentration, showing less germination of perennial ryegrass in reply to increasing concentration of NaCl (Table 1 ). For the rate of germination, GI was higher in control than all other concentrations of NaCl used. The seedling growth parameters of L. perenne indicated that by increasing salt stress the fresh weight, dry weight and length of root and shoot decreased significantly (Table 2 ). Compared to all NaCl concentrations, the highest perennial ryegrass fresh and dry weight of root as well as root and shoot length was recorded in control (distilled water) (Table 2 ).

Impact of osmotic potential

Seed germination percentage decreased with an increase in osmotic potential. The seed germination was decreased from 92 to 27% when the osmotic potential was decreased from 0 to − 0.6 MPa.

No germination was observed where osmotic potential − 0.8 to − 1.0 was applied. The model estimated that 50% germination of the maximum was obtained at − 0.38 MPa (Fig.  4 ). The Ti , T 50 and MGT of perennial ryegrass were delayed with decreasing osmotic potential (Table 1 ). Compared to distilled water, Ti , T 50 and MGT were delayed nearly to 2–4 days. The maximum GI was recorded with distilled water, whilst it decreased when the osmotic potential was reduced from 0 to − 0.6 MPa (Table 1 ). In the case of seedling growth, data showed that decrease in osmotic potential from 0 to − 0.6 MPa, and the seedling growth parameters were reduced. The highest root length, fresh weight, and dry weight of perennial ryegrass were observed in distilled water. The shoot length, and fresh and dry weight of perennial ryegrass were also maximum in distilled water and the lowest values of these parameters were recorded at − 0.4 MPa (Table 2 ).

Influence of osmotic potential on seed germination of perennial ryegrass. Bold line represents a three-parameter logistic model (G (%) = G max /[1 + (x/x 50 ) g ]) fitted to the data. Vertical dash line represents X-axis value at 50% of the maximum germination. Dotted liens show 95% confidence intervals. Vertical bars represent ± standard error of the mean.

No seedling emergence was observed when seeds were placed at the soil surface. The seed emergence was reduced linearly from 1 to 5 cm and inhibited completely at 6 or 7 cm burial depth.

The maximum seedling emergence occurred at 1 cm depth and declined quickly to 55 and 28% at 4 and 5 cm seedling depths, respectively. The model estimated that 50% emergence of the maximum was obtained at 4.33 cm seed burial depth (Fig.  5 ). The seed emergence parameters such as Ti , E 50 , MET were directly proportional to seed burial depth (Table 1 ). At 1 or 2 cm depth, seed emergence started in 3.2 and 3.7 days, respectively; however, with increasing burial depth from 3 to 5 cm, Ti was delayed by 1 to 3 days. The E 50 and MET were minimum at 1 cm and maximum at 5 cm seed burial depth (Table 1 ). The emergence index ( EI ) was reduced with increasing seed burial depth. The seed placed at 1 cm depth recorded the highest value (3.5) of El that gradually decreased to 1.3 and 0.6 at 4 and 5 cm burial depths, respectively. The seedling growth of perennial ryegrass presented in Table 2 indicated that maximum root and shoot length were observed at 2 cm burial depth. The highest fresh and dry weight of root and shoot were also recorded at the same seeding depth (Table 2 ).

Influence of seed burial depth on seed emergence of perennial ryegrass.. Bold line represents a three-parameter logistic model (E (%) = E max /[1 + (x/x 50 ) g ]) fitted to the data. The vertical dash line represents X-axis value at 50% of the maximum germination. Dotted liens show 95% confidence intervals. Vertical bars represent ± standard error of the mean. No emergence was recorded at 0 cm seed burial depth so, the data of 0 cm were not included in the fitted model.

The temperature has a major influence on the occurrence and speed of Lolium species germination by affecting the seed deterioration, loss of dormancy and germination processes 27 . Our data showed that the optimum temperature for maximum germination of perennial ryegrass is 25 °C. It is the winter season weed and the temperature in November and December is about 25 °C. During these months, this weed has the ability to spread in different localities. The low germination at 35 °C may have biological significance because, in field conditions, soil warms slowly, resulting in significant germination causing a problem for growers 28 . Previous work showed that perennial ryegrass germination was typically reduced below a soil temperature of 15 °C, however, low temperature has little influence on the potential survival of seeds 29 . The germination rate parameters like Ti , T 50 and MGT were lower and the germination index was higher at 25 °C, indicating the most suitable temperature for the germination requirement of this weed. Germination of perennial ryegrass was started on the second day at 25 °C and prolonged to four days with an increase of decrease in temperature. According to the Association of Official Seed Analysts 30 , the first and final counts of germination should take place on day 5 and 14 for most of the Lolium species, however, germination may have been delayed to 14 days at low-temperature regimes. Root and shoot length, fresh and dry weight were also maximum at 25 °C. Root length and shoot length varied with varying temperatures because temperature affected the growth and development of plants beyond optimum temperature 31 .

Our results indicated that germination of perennial ryegrass was not affected by pH and it can grow on a wide range of pH from 5 to 10. Rather than the addition of NaOH or HCl to water, we used MES, HEPES and TRICINE for the perpetration of desired pH buffer to avoid change in pH during the experiment. It is notable that although different buffers have different chemicals, have no significant effects on the germination of perennial ryegrass . According to Thomas et al. 32 , many weed species germinate over a wide range of pH from 6 to 9 but some species showed the problem in germination when exposed to an acidic range (pH 5–6) 33 , 34 . Germination at high pH suggested that germination of this species will be inhibited under CO 3 2− and HCO 3 − salts. Likewise, germination, the values of germination parameters over time, T 50 , and MGT of perennial ryegrass were not affected by pH ranges For seedling parameters of perennial ryegrass , our findings are parallel to those of Chejara et al. 33 who reported that some species showed minute differences in root and shoot length over the wide ranges of pH. Our results showed that pH has a negative correlation with shoot length might be due to the increased concentration of salts with an increasing pH value. The ability to germinate over a wide range of pH buffers (5–10) may not provide a reliable indicator of the effects of alkaline or acidic soil on seed germination.

Impact of salinity

Salinity decreased germination rate progressively with an increase in concentration, suggesting that this species may not be established well in highly saline areas. It is documented that a higher concentration of NaCl can inhibit the germination of many weed species and may die at some stages 6 . In contrast, some weed species are resistant to NaCl concentration and can germinate successfully under salinity stress 9 . In the case of perennial ryegrass , the germination percentage, Ti , T 50 , and MGT were reduced with an increase in salt concentration might be due to less water uptake and providing suitable environments for the entrance of noxious ions in the embryo. According to Chachalis et al. 35 , seed germination was significantly affected by salinity and may generate low water potential and provide suitable environments for the access of noxious ions to the embryo. Higher NaCl concentration (300 mM) reduced the germination index and Ti which ultimately reduced the germination capability of many weed seeds 36 . Similar to our results for GI, Tanveer et al. 34 concluded that GI of Cucumis melo was maximum at a lower salinity level. The results suggested that salt stress caused a reduction in root and shoot growth parameters of perennial ryegrass , which might be due to less water uptake under high concentrations. Salinity decreased the ease with which seeds take up moisture or facilitated the intake of toxic ions, leading to changes in hormonal and enzymatic activity of seeds and resulting in inhibition in seed germination. An example of the first mechanism, Prisco et al. 37 found that germination of red kidney bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) was inhibited by the osmotic effect of NaCl at greeter than − 0.8 MPa osmotic potential. Evidence of the second mechanism was described by Kim and Park 38 who found salinity reduced the biosynthesis of gibberellic acid, an essential hormone for breaking dormancy and controlling the growth of seedlings. Resultantly, salinity might affect some physiological processes in plants but it is unclear whether the reduction in germination is directly due to osmotic effects, or to some non-toxic germination repression caused by the salt.

The seed germination of perennial ryegrass was decreased by increasing osmotic potential from 0 to − 0.6 and suppressed completely from − 0.8 to − 1 MPa might be due to drought condition that fails the embryo to develop radicle and plumule. The process of water imbibition remains incomplete in drought-sensitive seeds. Dry seeds need more water for cellular metabolism and the amount of water differs from species to species 39 . It has been postulated that metabolites of starch such as glucose are critical for seed germination as they are involved as osmolytes for cellular turgor maintenance and energy sources 40 . Under water-deficit conditions, starch metabolism is reduced, leading to poor germination 41 . Drought affected the Ti , T 50 , MGT and GI of perennial ryegrass and the findings of our experiment are similar to the results of Tanveer et al. 42 who stated that the highest Ti (3.54 days) of Lathyrus aphaca was measured at the osmotic potential of − 0.6 MPa. In our experiment, fresh and dry weight, as well as shoot and root length of perennial ryegrass, decreased as osmotic potential increased. Contrary to our results, Norsworthy and Oliveira 43 stated that the shoot length of sicklepod showed resistance to osmotic potential ranges from 0.0 to − 1.0 MPa. The results showed that the osmotic potential of − 0.4 MPa declined the germination of perennial ryegrass up to 40% whereas, the salinity at 100 mM (~ 0.45 MPa) recorded the germination of 80%. This variation in germination might be due to the fact described by Fukuda et al. 44 that moderate salt levels promote germination and it has been suggested that salt can be compartmentalized and used as cellular osmotica, allowing seeds to germinate under osmotic conditions which would otherwise preclude it. It is further supported by Fukuda et al. 44 that compartmentalization of salt into vacuoles aid the growth and survival of vegetative plants. Moreover, in the osmotic potential case, the PEG is either unable to cross the cell membrane or can do so only slowly while in the case of salt stress, salt might be compartmentalized and the seed avoids the negative effect of low water potential.

Seeding depth also suppresses the emergence of many weed species 6 . In our study, there was no seed emergence of perennial ryegrass observed at the soil surface, which might be due to a lack of moisture at the soil surface. No germination at the soil surface favored perennial ryegrass weed in the no-till system. These results are in line with those of Javaid and Tanveer 11 who reported that seeds of Emex australis sown on the soil surface had delayed and reduced germination. Emergence was detected at 1 to 5 cmof seed burial depth and maximum emergence was recorded at 1 cmdepth which was probably due to its small seed size and inadequate food reserves, which enabled the seeds to arise from bigger depths. The reduced emergence at greater depth might be due to small amounts of gaseous diffusion in soil and hypoxia 45 . Different weeds germinate to different degrees mainly depending on their seed size and seeding depth 46 . Our study revealed that the deeper the sowing depth of perennial ryegrass , the more will be Ti , E 50 and MET. As deeper the seeds were sown of dove weed, E 50 tended to decline and significantly reduced from 2 to 6 cm 47 . Seed burial depth reduced the E 50 and MET 48 . Root and shoot length, and fresh and dry weight of perennial ryegrass decreased as seeding depth increased. Boyd and Van Acker 49 also reported that the root and shoot fresh weight of numerous weed species decreased with increasing seed burial depth.

Conclusions

The temperature had a significant impact on the seed germination of perennial ryegrass and the optimum temperature for its germination was 25 °C. It can withstand a wide range of salinity and have the potential to tolerate extreme salinity up to 250 mM NaCl concentration. Osmotic potential reduces its germination and growth beyond − 0.6 MPa and this weed proved to be unaffected by different pH ranges from 5 to 10. It is also revealed that the seed of perennial ryegrass was not germinated at the soil surface, beyond 1–2 cm burial depth a significant reduction was observed and complete inhibition in germination occurred below 5 cm burial depth. The germination and seedling traits were also influenced by these environmental factors.

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend their appreciation to Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2022R20), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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M.M.J. conceived the idea and conducted research. The investigation was carried out by A.M. and H.W. Data analysis was carried out by M.N., M.A.S., I.H., A.W. and K.A.A., D.S.A., M.D.F.A., S.A.K. and S.F. provided technical expertise and revised the article as per reviewer comments. M.M.J., A.M., H.W., R.M.B., M.A.N., S.A. and B.A.K. helped in the writing of the original draft. All authors carefully read, revise, and approved the article for submission.

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Javaid, M.M., Mahmood, A., Alshaya, D.S. et al. Influence of environmental factors on seed germination and seedling characteristics of perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne L.). Sci Rep 12 , 9522 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13416-6

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Effects of Temperature and Salinity on Seed Germination of Three Common Grass Species

Yongjie liu.

1 State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China

Shuang Zhang

Hans j. de boeck.

2 Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium

Fujiang Hou

Associated data.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Temperature and salinity significantly affect seed germination, but the joint effects of temperature and salinity on seed germination are still unclear. To explore such effects, a controlled experiment was conducted, where three temperature levels (i.e., 15, 20, and 25°C) and five salinity levels (i.e., 0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mmol/L) were crossed, resulting in 15 treatments (i.e., 3 temperature levels × 5 salinity levels). Three typical grass species ( Festuca arundinacea , Bromus inermis , and Elymus breviaristatus ) were used, and 25 seeds of each species were sown in petri dishes under these treatments. Germination percentages and germination rates were calculated on the basis of the daily recorded germinated seed numbers of each species. Results showed that temperature and salinity significantly affected seed germination percentage and germination rate, which differed among species. Specifically, F. arundinacea had the highest germination percentage, followed by E. breviaristatus and B. inermis , with a similar pattern also found regarding the accumulated germination rate and daily germination rate. Generally, F. arundinacea was not sensitive to temperature within the range of 15–25°C, while the intermediate temperature level improved the germination percentage of B. inermis , and the highest temperature level benefited the germination percentage of E. breviaristatus . Moreover, F. arundinacea was also not sensitive to salinity within the range of 0–200 mmol/L, whereas high salinity levels significantly decreased the germination percentage of B. inermis and E. breviaristatus . Thus, temperature and salinity can jointly affect seed germination, but these differ among plant species. These results can improve our understanding of seed germination in saline soils in the face of climate change.

Introduction

Seed germination is a fundamental stage in the life cycle of a plant ( Bewley, 1997 ; Nimbalkar et al., 2020 ). Seed germination is significantly affected by both physical and biological factors such as temperature and species identity ( Larsen et al., 2004 ; Bewley et al., 2013 ; Zhang et al., 2020 ). Soil salinization is one of the major drivers of soil degradation ( Zhang et al., 2015a ; Gorji et al., 2017 ), and it can significantly affect seed germination and the following stages such as seedling establishment ( Khan and Gulzar, 2003 ; Qu et al., 2008 ). Over 900 Mha land is impacted by salinity in the whole world ( Rengasamy, 2006 ; Shiade and Boelt, 2020 ). Climate change such as extreme warming is expected to be more frequent in the future ( Khan and Qaiser, 2006 ; Blackport and Screen, 2020 ; Bai et al., 2021 ). Such change could significantly affect seed germination ( Walck et al., 2011 ; Mondoni et al., 2012 ). Soil salinization could become more serious in the face of climate change because global warming generally increases evaporation, which can promote soil salinization ( Utset and Borroto, 2001 ). Therefore, salinity and temperature would jointly affect seed germination, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas of northeastern China, where the soil salinization area covers over 70% of the total land area ( Wang et al., 2011 ). Moreover, several species are facing population reductions due to human disturbances and climate change ( Richmond et al., 2007 ; Ureta et al., 2012 ; Gu et al., 2018 ). Thus, exploring seed germination under the ongoing soil salinization and global warming is important in assessing the stability of plant community.

Theoretically, the seed germination of each species has an optimal temperature, under which seeds could germinate better than under other temperatures. Previous studies found that salinity decreased seed germination of some species compared with non-saline conditions ( Khan and Gulzar, 2003 ; Qu et al., 2008 ). However, the impact of salinity on seed germination might be modified by temperature, as Gorai and Neffati (2007) found that negative effects of salinity on seed germination were less severe at the optimum temperature, as the additional environmental stress at low or high temperatures would thus be alleviated ( Al-Khateeb, 2006 ). Yet, Khan and Ungar (2001) found that the effect of salinity was stronger at lower temperatures, while Delesalle and Blum (1994) revealed that such effect was stronger at higher temperatures. Finally, Khan and Ungar (1998) showed that the effect of salinity was not affected by temperature in their experiment. Thus, the joint effects of salinity and temperature on seed germination are still unclear ( Fernandez et al., 2015 ; Lin et al., 2018 ).

In response to local salinity and suboptimal temperatures, plant species developed different strategies, including adjusting germination percentage or germination rate through modifying seed dormancy and/or seed viability ( Ungar, 1995 ; Khan et al., 2001 ; Khan and Ungar, 2001 ; Shahba et al., 2008 ; Guan et al., 2009 ). Such responses can further alter seedling establishment and seedling growth ( Gu et al., 2018 ; Del Vecchio et al., 2021 ). Exploring the effects of salinity and temperature on seed germination may shed light on understanding the mechanisms of species coexistence. However, studying such effects under natural conditions is difficult since (1) soil conditions such as temperature and salinity vary spatially and temporally ( Hermans et al., 2016 ), which makes it difficult to keep a constant level of temperature or salinity. (2) Other environmental variables such as radiation and soil moisture hamper separating the roles of temperature and salinity from these factors ( Khan and Ungar, 1997 ; De Boeck et al., 2015 ; Borja et al., 2016 ; Bhatt et al., 2020 ). (3) Some particular species in a community such as halophytes and xerophytes may skew the results, where halophytes can modify their strategies (e.g., reduce seed germination percentage or delay the start of germination under the high level of salinity) to adapt to different salinity levels ( Gulzar and Khan, 2001 ; Khan and Gul, 2006 ; El-Keblawy et al., 2020 ), and xerophytes can grow well under conditions with a large variation of temperature ( Zhang et al., 2015b ).

To explore the joint effects of temperature and salinity on seed germination of grass species with less confounding factors ( Figure 1 ), a controlled experiment was thus conducted. Three typical grass species ( Festuca arundinacea , Bromus inermis , and Elymus breviaristatus ) widely used as forage species ( Lu et al., 2008 ) that can be potentially grown in saline soils were exposed to three levels of temperature and five levels of salinity. Specifically, (1) we expect seed germination in general to be the highest at the intermediate level of temperature (20°C), which is thought to be closest to the optimal temperature for seed germination for such grasses ( Romo and Eddleman, 1995 ; Lu et al., 2008 ; Zhang et al., 2013 ). (2) We assume that seed germination would consistently decrease with increasing salinity ( Wu et al., 2015 ; Zhang and Dai, 2019 ). (3) We anticipate that the intermediate (and supposed optimum) temperature level would alleviate the negative effects of salinity on seed germination ( Gorai and Neffati, 2007 ).

The expected effects of temperature (three levels: low, medium, and high) and salinity (five levels: no, low, medium, high, and extreme) on seed germination, where “+” and “–” refer to the positive and negative effect, respectively. More “+” or “–” indicates a stronger effect.

Materials and Methods

Experimental design.

To explore the effects of temperature and salinity on seed germination, an experiment was conducted at the Yuzhong Campus of Lanzhou University, China (104°09′44″N, 35°56′55″E) from 6 April to 25 April 2021. Three levels of temperature (i.e., 15, 20, and 25°C) and five levels of salinity (i.e., NaCl concentration 0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mmol/L) were created to simulate the future climatic conditions. Note that these temperature and salinity levels were set in line with previous studies ( Lu et al., 2008 and Zhang et al., 2013 for temperature levels; Yang et al., 2009 and Li et al., 2019 for salinity levels). Three target grass species ( F. arundinacea , B. inermis , and E. breviaristatus ) were exposed to these 15 treatments. A recent study reported that different varieties of a species responded differently to salinity stress ( Shiade and Boelt, 2020 ). However, this study aimed to explore the responses of seed germination of different species to the joint effects of temperature and salinity, not of varieties of specific species. Seeds of the three species used in our experiment were bought from a commercial company (Best, Beijing, China). Further information can be found in Table 1 . Twenty-five seeds of each species were applied in each treatment. All seeds were evenly sown in petri dishes with two sheets of filter paper (diameter 7 cm). The filter paper was saturated with saline solutions (around 5 mL) and kept stable during the experiment.

Information of the seeds applied in this experiment.

“Normal” in the variety name reflects that there is no specific variety for this species.

Three incubators (LRH-250-G, Illuminating Incubator) were used, and each of them was set at one of the three applied temperature levels. Petri dishes with the five salinity levels were randomly stored in each of these chambers. These petri dishes were covered with lids at the beginning of the experiment, and they were removed after the germination of the seeds since lids impeded the growth of these seedlings. Five replicates were used per treatment, resulting in 225 petri dishes (i.e., 3 species × 3 temperature levels × 5 salinity levels × 5 replications) in total. Note that the seed germination test was conducted according to the rules of the International Seed Testing Associations ( ISTA, 2018 ), and the germinated seeds in each petri dish were daily recorded. Seeds were treated as germinated when the radicle was more than 2 mm long ( Shiade and Boelt, 2020 ). This experiment was ended when there was no additional germination for 3 days.

Data Analysis and Statistics

Germination percentage (GP) was calculated by dividing the germinated seed number by the total seed number in each petri dish along the experimental period. Accumulated germination rate (AGR) and daily germination rate (DGR) in each petri dish were calculated by the following two equations:

AGR = (∑ G P i )/ i , where i is the day after seed set in these chambers;

DGR = the newly germinated seed number per day/25 in each petri-dish.

To explore the seed germination during the experiment, four separate analyses were conducted. First, repeated-measures ANOVA was used to explore the differences of GP, AGR, and DGR among the target species. Second, repeated-measures ANOVAs were applied to investigate the effects of temperature, species, and their interactions on the GP. Third, repeated-measures ANOVAs were employed to test the effects of salinity, species, and their interactions on the GP. A significant effect of species was found in the second and third analyses. Thus, separate repeated-measures ANOVAs analyses were conducted for each species, where temperature (or salinity), time, and their interaction were treated as variables. Fourth, MANOVA was performed to examine the impacts of temperature, salinity, species and their interactions on the GP, AGR at the last day of the experiment, and the average DGR during the experiment. Note that time (i.e., the germination date) was treated as an extra factor in these analyses except the last one.

Curve estimations were conducted to explore the relationships between salinity and GP separated by temperature, where linear, quadratic, power, and exponential curves were tested. A better model was identified with a lower Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and a significant P -value. All statistics were performed with SPSS 23.0 ( IBM Corp, 2015 ).

In the first analysis, GP, AGR, and DGR varied within species, germination date, and species × germination date interaction ( Table 2 and Figure 2 ). On average, the GP of F. arundinacea was higher than that of E. breviaristatus and B. inermis , and the GP of E. breviaristatus was in turn higher than that of B. inermis ( Figure 2A ). Such a pattern was also found for AGR ( Figure 2B ) and DGR ( Figure 2C ). B. inermis germinated faster at the beginning of the experiment, while its germination decreased faster than the other two species during the experiment ( Figure 2C ). The interaction effect between species and germination date was likely caused by the convergence of the seed germination ( Figure 2 ).

Effects of species, time, and their interaction in repeated-measures ANOVA of germination percentage (GP), accumulated germination rate (AGR), and daily germination rate (DGR).

F-values, P-values, and degrees of freedom (df between–groups , df within–groups ) are given with significant results (P < 0.05) in bold.

The germination percentage (A) , accumulated germination rate (B) , and daily germination rate (C) of the three target grass species ( Festuca arundinacea , Bromus inermis , and Elymus breviaristatus , labeled as red, orange, and blue color, respectively) along time (i.e., the germination date). Note that these figures are derived from the average data of the three temperature levels and five salinity levels.

In the second analysis, on investigating the effects of species, temperature, and their interaction on GP, the three target species demonstrated different responses ( Table 3 and Figure 3 ). The GP of F. arundinacea was not sensitive to the relatively high levels of temperature ( Figure 3A ). The GP of B. inermis was highest at the intermediate temperature level ( Figure 3B ), and the GP of E. breviaristatus was highest at the highest temperature level in this study ( Figure 3C ).

Effects of species, temperature, time, and their interactions in repeated-measures ANOVA of germination percentage, which was separated by species since it was a significant factor.

F-values, P-values, and degree of freedom (df between–groups , df within–groups ) are given with significant results (P < 0.05) in bold.

Seed germination percentages of Festuca arundinacea (A) , Bromus inermis (B) , and Elymus breviaristatus (C) under different temperatures as a function of salinity levels. Note that all these significant equations are non-linear, so P -values are given.

In the third analysis, on testing the effects of species, salinity, and their interaction on GP, the three target species likewise showed different patterns ( Table 4 and Figure 3 ). The GP of F. arundinacea was not sensitive to relatively low levels of salinity. However, the other two species showed a different pattern, where the higher salinity levels decreased the GP of B. inermis , while the intermediate level of salinity increased. The GP of E. breviaristatus consistently decreased with increasing salinity levels. Moreover, the intermediate temperature level (i.e., 20°C) × lowest salinity level (i.e., 0 mmol/L) generated the highest GP for F. arundinacea , while the highest temperature level (i.e., 25°C) × lowest salinity level (i.e., 0 mmol/L) generated the highest GP for B. inermis and E. breviaristatus ( Figure 4 ).

Effects of species, salinity, time, and their interactions in repeated-measures ANOVA of germination percentage, which was separated by species since it was a significant factor.

The joint effect of temperature and salinity on seed germination of Festuca arundinacea (A) , Bromus inermis (B) , and Elymus breviaristatus (C) as a function of time (i.e., the germination date). Note that T1–T3 refer to the three temperature levels, that is, 15, 20, and 25°C, respectively, while N1–N5 reflect the five salinity levels, that is, 0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mmol/L, respectively.

Finally, exploring the effects at the last day of the experiment, species, temperature, salinity, species × temperature, species salinity, and species × temperature × salinity significantly affected GP, AGR, and DGR ( Table 5 and Figure 4 ), while there were no significant temperature × salinity effects at this measurement data.

Effects of temperature, salinity, species, and their interactions in MANOVA of germination percentages (GP), accumulated germination rate (AGR), and daily germination rate (DGR).

F-values, P-values, and degrees of freedom (df between–groups , df within–groups ) are given, with significant results (P < 0.05) in bold.

The first hypothesis stated that seed germination would be the highest at the intermediate level of temperature. This was partly supported as such a pattern was found in one of the target plant species (i.e., B. inermis , Figure 3B ), where lower germination was found at lower temperatures. This is partly consistent with the finding of Ao et al. (2014) , where seed germination of B. inermis was low at lower temperatures. Note that such a pattern was not found in the other two target species. For F. arundinacea , temperature levels in this study may have all been in the optimal temperature range of this species ( Lu et al., 2008 ), while for E. breviaristatus , the optimal temperature of seed germination might have been higher than the temperature levels we set ( Figure 3C ).

Our second hypothesis aimed to test whether seed germination would be reduced at higher levels of salinity. This was supported as seed germination of the three target species was generally lower at higher salinity levels, even though they responded inconsistently to the salinity gradient ( Figure 3 ). Such results are in line with previous studies on the target species F. arundinacea ( Shiade and Boelt, 2020 ), B. inermis ( Yang et al., 2009 ). and E. breviaristatus ( Li et al., 2019 ), and on other species such as Helianthus annuus ( Wu et al., 2015 ), Oryza sativa ( Xu et al., 2011 ), and Zea mays ( Khodarahmpour et al., 2012 ). Such results could be related to the effects of ion toxicity on seed germination ( Panuccio et al., 2014 ). The different responses of plants to salinity are likely caused by the genetic traits of these species ( Vu et al., 2015 ; Chamorro et al., 2017 ) and their growing conditions ( Mira et al., 2017 ).

The last hypothesis focused on the joint effects of salinity and temperature on seed germination, and we expected that the negative effect of salinity on seed germination would be alleviated at the intermediate level of temperature. This was supported by our findings in one of the three target species ( B. inermis , Figure 3B ), where the germination percentage of B. inermis at the intermediate temperature level was higher than at the other two temperature levels, and the germination percentage decreased more slowly with increasing salinity compared with the other two temperature levels. This is in line with the finding of Gorai and Neffati (2007) , where the negative effect of salinity on seed germination was alleviated at the optimum temperature. However, the other two species did not show such a pattern.

Results of this study should be interpreted and extrapolated with caution because of the following two reasons. One is that NaCl solutions in this study might evaporate at different rates when they were set under different temperatures during the experiment ( Sayer et al., 2017 ), and this may affect the ultimate salinity level and thus the ensuing results. The other is that each level of temperature was kept constant during the experiment in this study, while previous studies found that variation of temperature can benefit seed germination ( Liu et al., 2013 , 2017a ; Spindelböck et al., 2013 ; Burghardt et al., 2016 ). Moreover, soil resources such as soil temperature and salinity vary a lot even at a short distance in natural conditions ( Maestre et al., 2003 ; Lundholm, 2010 ). Thus future studies on seed germination should consider the heterogeneous distributions of these factors, potentially in combination with other aspects of soil heterogeneity (e.g., Liu et al., 2017b , c , 2019 ; Liu and Hou, 2021 ).

Data Availability Statement

Author contributions.

YL designed the study, conducted the analyses, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. SZ collected the data. All authors contributed significantly to the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Yan Zhang, Sixia Liu, and Qingyu Du for the experimental assistance. We would also like to thank Zhixia Ying for her valuable comments on the earlier versions of this manuscript.

This work was supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Forestry and Grassland Administration of Ningxia. Hui Autonomous Region, China “Study on Construction Mode and Key Technology of Grassland Ecological Civilization Demonstration Area in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region”. YL holds a start-up fund from Lanzhou University (508000-561119213).

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The Control of Seed Dormancy and Germination by Temperature, Light and Nitrate

• Published: 08 May 2020
• Volume 86 , pages 39–75, ( 2020 )

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• An Yan 1 &
• Zhong Chen 1 , 2  

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Seed dormancy and germination are two closely linked physiological traits that have great impacts on adaptation and survival of seed plants. Seed dormancy strengthen and germination potential are comprehensively influenced by a variety of internal factors and external environment cues. Environmental factors, such as water content, light condition, ambient temperature, and nitrogen availability, act as signal input to determine whether seeds keep in a dormant state or start to germinate. Light, temperature, and nitrogen availability are the most critical environmental factors that have profound impacts on seed dormancy and germination. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of seed dormancy and germination by environmental signals are still poorly understood. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of signal transduction networks linking environmental stimulus to seed dormancy establishment, dormancy break and germination, underscoring the dominating roles of temperature, light, and nitric oxide. We review temperature, light, and nitric oxide signaling pathway separately as well as the integration of these signaling pathways with phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellins (GA) signaling pathway in the context of seed dormancy and germination.

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Molecular and Hormonal Regulation of Thermoinhibition of Seed Germination

Regulation of seed dormancy cycling in seasonal field environments.

Mechanisms of Maturation and Germination in Crop Seeds Exposed to Environmental Stresses with a Focus on Nutrients, Water Status, and Reactive Oxygen Species

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Authors thank the research grant (NTU-MSE-Facile Non-T) to Z.C. and NIE AcRF funding (RI 8/16 CZ) to support A.Y.

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Yan, A., Chen, Z. The Control of Seed Dormancy and Germination by Temperature, Light and Nitrate. Bot. Rev. 86 , 39–75 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-020-09220-4

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A classic seed experiment

Seed germination activities are a long-time favorite of educators. One of the classic seed experiments uses a resealable plastic bag, a paper towel or napkin, seeds and water. This is a low-cost, effective tool for teaching about seeds, germination, gravitropism and energy. It also provides a perfect environment for introducing the fundamentals of the  scientific method .

A twist on an old favorite

Dr. Biology’s  Virtual Pocket Seed Experiment  adds a twist to this classic experiment that fits into today's technology. It allows educators to introduce students to all the concepts of the original with some added features and benefits.

• The virtual version is a collection of real data that students can use to chart the results of different seed treatments.
• Each treatment is also animated so 10 days can be viewed in a matter of seconds.
• A companion Excel spreadsheet introduces students to 21st century skills as well as graphing and charting.

Virtual Pocket Seed Experiment

The best part of the Virtual Pocket Seed Experiment is it is flexible. It allows teachers to introduce as much of the virtual data as desired.

In some cases it can serve as a backup for the real-world experiment. It can be used in its fully virtual form to compress the time it takes to run the hands-on version.

The animations and companion story also serve as introductory materials to capture student imagination and interest.  The virtual version is based on a real world experiment adding to its authenticity. Students can then run their own experiments and compare their results to the virtual version.

How to use the Virtual Pocket Seed Experiment

The  Experiment Packet PDF  contains all the educator needs for either the hands-on or virtual experiment. It also provides detailed instructions including illustrations, a sample lesson plan, handouts and materials for students to use for either experiment. It is worth downloading the reviewing the packet. There are several ways to introduce the experiment to students depending on the needs of the educator. Below are some suggestions based on instructor feedback.

• Many teachers introduce students to seeds, their anatomy and seed germination using the companion,  Time Traveling Plants , story.
• Before using the virtual experiment it is best to review  Experiment Overview  and  Data Card Help  sections.
• Depending on the grade level and the time available, students can conduct the hands-on experiment or use the virtual version.
• Younger learners run the experiment and carry out the analysis.
• Older learners begin to use the companion Excel file.
• For some high school teachers the experiment is used as a quick 30-50 minute refresher for students to get them thinking critically and using the scientific method.

Arizona Science Standards

Strand One: Inquiry process

Concept 1: Observations, Questions, and Hypotheses

• PO 1. (5) Formulate a relevant question through observations that can be tested by an investigation.
• PO 1. (7) Formulate questions based on observations that lead to the development of a hypothesis.
• PO 2. (2) Predict the results of an investigation.

Concept 2: Scientific Testing (Investigating and Modeling)

• PO 1. (7) Demonstrate safe behavior and appropriate procedures in all science inquiry.
• PO 2. (4) Plan a simple investigation that identifies the variables to be controlled.
• PO 3. (4) Conduct controlled investigations in life, physical, and Earth and space sciences.
• PO 4. (5) Measure using appropriate tools (e.g., ruler, scale, balance) and units of measure.
• PO 5. (5) Record data in an organized and appropriate format.

Concept 3: Analysis and Conclusions

• PO 1. (7) Analyze data obtained in a scientific investigation to identify trends.
• PO 2. (7) Form a logical argument about a correlation between variables or sequence of events.
• PO 3. (6) Evaluate the observations and data reported by others.

Strand 4: Life Science

Concept 1: Structure and Function in Living Systems

• PO 1. (3) Describe the function of the following plant structures: roots, stems, leaves, flowers.

Concept 2: Life Cycles

• PO 2. (3) Explain how growth, death, and decay are part of the plant life cycle.

Concept 3: Organisms and Environments

• PO 5. (3) Describe how environmental factors in the ecosystem may affect a member organism's ability to grow, reproduce, and thrive.

Read more about: Virtual Pocket Seed Viewer

View citation, bibliographic details:.

• Article: For Teachers
• Author(s): Dr. Biology
• Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
• Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
• Date published: December 29, 2016
• Date accessed: August 23, 2024
• Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/experiments/vpocketseeds_teachers

Dr. Biology. (2016, December 29). For Teachers. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved August 23, 2024 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/experiments/vpocketseeds_teachers

Chicago Manual of Style

Dr. Biology. "For Teachers". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 29 December, 2016. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/experiments/vpocketseeds_teachers

MLA 2017 Style

Dr. Biology. "For Teachers". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 29 Dec 2016. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 23 Aug 2024. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/experiments/vpocketseeds_teachers

On screen measuring tool speeds up data collection from any zoom view.

Virtual Pocket Seed Viewer

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JSmol Viewer

Enhancement of in vitro seed germination, growth, and root development in two sideritis species through ga 3 application and diverse led light conditions.

1. Introduction

2. materials and methods, 2.1. seed morphology and seed quality parameters in sideritis species, 2.2. in vitro seed germination and growth of seedlings under different lighting conditions, 2.2.1. sideritis clandestina subsp. pelopponesiaca, 2.2.2. sideritis scardica griseb, 2.3. single-value germination indices implemented in germination metrics, 2.4. statistical analysis, 3.1. in vitro germination of sideritis clandestina subsp. pelopponesiaca seeds and growth of seedlings, 3.2. in vitro germination of sideritis scardica seeds and growth of seedlings, 4. discussion, 5. conclusions, supplementary materials, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Sarropoulou, V.; Grigoriadou, K.; Maloupa, E.; Chatzopoulou, P. Enhancement of In Vitro Seed Germination, Growth, and Root Development in Two Sideritis Species through GA 3 Application and Diverse LED Light Conditions. Seeds 2024 , 3 , 411-435. https://doi.org/10.3390/seeds3030029

Sarropoulou V, Grigoriadou K, Maloupa E, Chatzopoulou P. Enhancement of In Vitro Seed Germination, Growth, and Root Development in Two Sideritis Species through GA 3 Application and Diverse LED Light Conditions. Seeds . 2024; 3(3):411-435. https://doi.org/10.3390/seeds3030029

Sarropoulou, Virginia, Katerina Grigoriadou, Eleni Maloupa, and Paschalina Chatzopoulou. 2024. "Enhancement of In Vitro Seed Germination, Growth, and Root Development in Two Sideritis Species through GA 3 Application and Diverse LED Light Conditions" Seeds 3, no. 3: 411-435. https://doi.org/10.3390/seeds3030029

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Can You Grow Apples From Pips? How To Plant Apple Seeds That Can Flourish

Knowing how to plant apple seeds can be a fun project that has the potential to lead to exciting future fruits. Find out a free way to grow your own homegrown apple trees

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Does Variety Matter When Planting Apple Seeds?

When and where to plant apple seeds, how to sow apple seeds, best care for apple seedlings, frequently asked questions.

If you’ve ever feasted on a juicy, crunchy apple, stared at the pips, and wondered how to plant apple seeds, then you’re not alone. Being able to grow your own apples this way has plenty of obvious attractions for apple lovers – not least of which being that it promises a glut of future fruits for free. However, knowing how to plant an apple tree from seed does require a little thought. It’s not difficult to do, but it does require specialized knowledge, including how to germinate and stratify seeds.

Anyone familiar with apple tree planting will know that new trees grown commercially tend to come from grafts. Growing a tree from seed requires patience and may end in disappointment, as you won’t get the same type of apple that the seed came from. Still, knowing how to plant apple tree seeds can be a fun experiment, and you never know, you might just grow some interesting and tasty new fruits for free. Read on to find out how to sow apple seeds that have the best chance of fruiting success.

Apples are commercially grown using grafts rather than seeds, because they do not grow true from seeds. This is because the fruits result from cross-pollination with another apple tree. There is no way to know what other tree was involved. The seed is a combination of two parents.

So, for example, if you decided to plant a Honeycrisp apple seed, you could feasibly grow an apple tree, but the fruits would not be Honeycrisps. This would be the case no matter which apple seeds you decided to try to plant. With this in mind, you can still grow a tree from seed – the nature of what you’ll eventually grow will be a mystery, but if it does fruit, it is sure to be a welcome (and hopefully tasty) treat.

When it comes to knowing how to plant apple seeds that have the best chance of becoming healthy trees, timing is everything. If you want to try directly sowing seeds in the ground, you should plant them in the fall. This allows the seeds to stratify naturally. Stratification is a period of exposure to cold temperatures which seeds need to go through in order to break dormancy and germinate.

If you are growing seeds indoors, plant your seedlings outside in spring. This will give them a long growing season to establish before winter. Sow seeds or transplant seedlings outdoors in a spot with full sun and moist, well-drained soil. When your tree is ready to flower, it will need another apple tree nearby for cross-pollination.

Above all, growing apples from scratch requires patience. However, as long as you take your time, you won’t need much in the way of tools, or advanced techniques. Just follow these steps when sowing apple seeds for successful germination:

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• Remove the seeds from a mature, ripe apple and clean them of any fruit pieces. Let the seeds air dry.
• Keep the seeds in a cold place for 70 to 80 days. The best temperature for stratifying apple seeds is 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4°Celsius).
• Gently rub your apple seeds on some sandpaper in order to nudge the germination process along.

After the seed stratification period, you can sow the seeds in pots or directly outdoors. Knowing how deep to plant an apple seed is another factor that will improve your success rate. About a half inch (1cm) is just right. Keep the soil consistently moist as you wait for your apple seeds to germinate and sprout.

The best way to plant apple seeds is to use containers so you can better control conditions. Indeed, you may find you want to keep growing apples in containers beyond the initial planting stage. Use several seeds as not all will germinate. If you sow seeds directly outdoors, provide protection to keep animals from digging them up before they can germinate.

Once you have some healthy, vigorous seedlings, continue to care for them so at least one will successfully grow into a tree. Apple trees grow best in full sun and moderate temperatures. They need consistently moist soil that does not get waterlogged. Water regularly and deeply to help young plants develop strong roots.

If you are transplanting seedlings outdoors, amend the soil as needed. Add compost for nutrients and make sure it drains well. You can also provide a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer every few weeks during the growing season to help keep your young apple trees strong and healthy. Good luck!

Do You Need to Dry Out Apple Seeds Before Planting?

Yes, if you are serious about growing apples from seeds, apple seeds should be dried. They also require stratification (a period of cold temperatures) before planting to maximize your chances of cultivating the healthiest and most productive apples.

How Long Does it Take an Apple Tree To Grow from Seed?

Apple seeds must be chilled for a few months before they germinate. Once chilled, they should germinate and sprout quickly. Just bear in mind that it can take seven to 10 years for that humble apple seed to mature into a healthy fruit-producing tree.

Mary Ellen Ellis has been gardening for over 20 years. With degrees in Chemistry and Biology, Mary Ellen's specialties are flowers, native plants, and herbs.

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