The Causes of Dormancy and the Changes of Endogenous Hormone Content in Cephalotaxus sinensis Seeds

Abstract

In many wild species, seeds are dormancy at maturity and will not germinate even under favorable environment conditions. Dormancy is a complex trail that is determined by many factors. Some studies have shown that cold stratification and the application of gibberellic acid (GA) can break seed dormancy and promote seed germination. The present study investigated the causes of plant dormancy and the effect of cold stratification and different concentrations of exogenous GA3 in regulating Cephalotaxus sinensis seed germination. Results showed that C. Sinensis seeds have good water permeability, which suggested that seed coats were not the main cause that inhibited the seed germination. There were germination inhibitions in all parts of seeds, and the order of inhibitory effect was: testa