Seed Germination of Pistacia chinensis Induced by Chitosan Treatment

To tackle with the problem with Pistacia chinensis seed germination,a two-factor multi-level duplicate experiment was conducted with P.chinensis seeds induced by chitosan treatment.The chitosan quality concentration levels included 0.2%,0.4%,0.6%,0.8% and 1.0%,and the soaking time was 1d,2d,3d,4d respectively,with distilled water soaking as control.The results showed that chitosan treatment could significantly promote the seed germination,while the germination rate of the untreated P.chinensis seeds was very low.The effect of chitosan quality concentration on the seed germination was significant,and the best promotion effect on germination was obtained when the seeds were soaked with 0.2% chitosan quality concentration.There was significant difference in seed germination among the soaking times.The highest germination index was obtained by soaking the seeds for 1d,while the highest germination potential was got by soaking the seeds for 2d.The interaction effect of the chitosan concentration and soaking time on the seed germination rate,germination potential and germination index all reached significant level.The best result was acquired by soaking the P.chinensis seeds with 0.6% chitosan solution for 1d.