Growth Regulator and Seed Storage Effects on Switchgrass Germination

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a warm season perennial grass that shows potential as a forage in the southeastern USA. Problems with switchgrass establishment from seed are often due to inherent seed dormancy from seeds harvested in fall and seeded the following spring. The objectives of this study were to determine (i) the effects of wet prechill (PC) treatment (5°C for 14 d) and scarification (8 M H 2 SO 4 for 5 min) on germination of five switchgrass cultivars and (ii) the effect of plant growth regulators (ethylene, gibberellin, and kinetin), CO 2 , PC, and influence of storage temperature and duration on germination of four selected lots of Blackwell (BW) and Cave-in-Rock (CIR) seeds. Storage treatments were initiated 1 February using seeds harvested the previous fall [...]