• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.177-182
• /
• 2016

Background: Many Taraxacum spp. plants are widely used in medicine, but some of them have propagation problems, such as strong dormancy and poor germination rates. This study investigated the effects of temperature, gibberellic acid ($GA_3$), and potassium nitrate ($KNO_3$) on seed germination in Taraxacum ohwianum. Methods and Results: The seeds (NIBRGR0000135524) were exalbuminous, and their length and width were $4.54{\pm}0.032mm$ and $0.97{\pm}0.029mm$, respectively. Various germination temperatures were tested (15, 20, 25, and $30^{\circ}C$), the optimum temperature for germination was found to be $20^{\circ}C$ (31.3%). High temperature ($30^{\circ}C$) resulted in non-typical seedlings (thickened and crumpled cotyledons, with a restricted root system). To increase the germination capacity, $GA_3$ (200, 500, and $1,000mg/{\ell}$) or $KNO_3$ (20, 50, 100, 200, and $500mg/{\ell}$) solutions were used as pre-soaking solutions instead of water. The $GA_3$ treatments increased the germination percentage and rate, but germination percentage was higher with the $KNO_3$ treatments. Under the $50-200mg/{\ell}\;KNO_3$ treatments, the germination percentage exceeded 80% after 12 days, and $50mg/{\ell}\;KNO_3$ was notably effective (91.2% after 15 days). Conclusions: T. ohwianum seeds showed improved germination at low temperatures. The best method for germination was presoaking in $50mg/{\ell}\;KNO_3$ for 24 h, in the dark at $4^{\circ}C$, and then incubating the germinated seed at $20^{\circ}C$ for 15 days.