Seed germination of Ipomoea pes-caprae(L.) Sweet

In this research the influence of different treatments on seed germination characteristics of Ipomoea pes-caprae were studied to determine effective measures for enhancing the germination rate and germination potential.Treatments included a mechanical treatment,98% H2SO4 solution for 90 min,40% NaOH solution for 36 h,and a temperature treatment between 15-20,20-25 and 25-30 ℃.Results showed that the mechanical treatment was best with both the average germination potential and average germination rate of 95.3%.Also,with the H2SO4 solution,the average germination potential was 91.2%,and the average germination rate was 93.5%.The NaOH solution treatment improved the average germination potential to 79.4% and the average germination rate to 40%.For the temperature treatment,germination was highest when temperatures were between 25-30 ℃ with the average germination potential reaching 24.6% and the average germination rate attaining 43.4%.Thus,the mechanical,the 98% H2SO4,or the NaOH solution treatments could improve seed germination of I.pes-caprae.[Ch,2 fig.4 tab.18 ref.]