Phenotype differences and dormancy breaking of Nitraria sphaerocarpa seeds in Hexi Corridor
In order to screen high-quality seed sources of pickled Nitraria sphaerocarpa for artificial cultiva-tion,25 pickled Nitraria sphaerocarpa seeds were collected as materials in the Gobi Desert Beach,in front of the Hexi Corridor and the desert sand to study their physical characteristics,dormant characteristics,dormant de-struction methods and germination characteristics.The results show that the foam Nitraria sphaerocarpa seeds are spindle-shaped or needle-shaped,with milky yellowish-brown colors,and a very few are black-brown.The outer skin of the seeds is soft and the surface is rough.The seed length is 7.01-9.29 mm,the width is 1.90-2.63 mm,the shape index is 5.41-11.18,the thousand grain weight is 8.28-19.23 g,the specific gravity is 1.02-1.16 g·cm-3,the volume weight is 282.17-448.33 kg·L-1,the soundness is 34.5%-92%,the initial germination rate is 4.25%-30.25%,and the indicators of different sample seeds have reached a very significant difference(P<0.01);the seed specific gravity is extremely positively correlated with the seed soundness(P<0.01),the seed soundness is extremely positive correlation cleaning the seed with NaOH,Ca(OH)2or KOH solution can remove the seed germination inhibitors and release the seed dormant completely.After breaking the dormancy,the germi-nation rate of 25 foam fruit white thorn seeds is between 13%and 90%,the average germination days is 1.88-2.95 d,and the germination index is 4.03-34.07.Under suitable conditions,the seed of pickled fruit is a sharp water absorption period within 2 h after being put on the bed,a slow water absorption period of 2 to 14 h,and a saturated water absorption period after 14 h.The water absorption rate remains at 60%,the material efficiency reaches 67.09%during seed germination,and the seedlings formed by seed germination are dicotyledon leaf seedlings.