Seed germination of some medicinal plant species for conservative purpose

Abstract

Due to the overexploitation, many medicinal plants are in decline. Enhancing the seed germination and the vigorous seedlings production is crucial for their cultivation and for ex situ conservation. Seven medicinal plant species were studied concerning seed germination as effect of different treatments (sterilization procedures and stimulation of germination). Seed sterilization with HgCl2 0.1% for 12 minutes was effective for controlling microbial and fungal contamination in all tested medicinal species. In vitro conditions were efficient for seed germination for 4 species. The stimulation treatments tested (KNO3 0.1%, NaCl 0.5% and GA3 0.5%) determined an improvement of seed germination capacity compared with untreated seeds.