Seed Germination Response to Temperature, Cold Stratification Period, and Gibberellin Treatment in Spiraea fritschiana

To improve the germination of Spiraea fritschiana seeds for mass propagation, we evaluated the effect of a range of temperatures, cold stratification periods, and gibberellic acid ($GA_3$) treatments on three germination characteristics. Final germination percentage (FGP) increased as the temperature for seed germination increased, up to $30^{\circ}C$, while the mean germination time (MGT) and the mean number of days to 30% germination ($T_{30}$) decreased when seeds were germinated at $25-30^{\circ}C$. The optimum germination temperature of S. fritschiana seeds is approximately $30^{\circ}C$ considering FGP, MGT, and $T_{30}$ together. FGP increased with the duration of cold stratification up to a period of 6 weeks, but declined after 8 weeks of cold stratification, as prolonged cold stratification can induce dormancy with a resultant decline in germination. Pretreatment with 6-8 weeks of cold stratification or soaking seeds in distilled water or $500mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ $GA_3$ for 24 h accelerated and increased the germination of S. fritschiana seeds, regardless of temperature. However, further study might be required to evaluate the effect of $GA_3$ concentrations lower than $500mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ on the promotion of germination in S. fritschiana seeds.