Abstract

Anthyllis cytisoïdes L. is a species of shrubby legume that is a member of the Fabaceae family and grows in zones located along the coast, near the Mediterranean Sea. This shrubby forage species is considered a good aliment source for some ruminants. Pretreatment seeds germination and their viability after storage for long periods of time were tested. Pretreatment conditions were as follows: (T1) seeds were soaked in running water for 48 h; (T2) seeds were lightly scarred; (T3) seeds were strongly scarred; (T4) seeds were soaked in running water for 24 h; (T5) seeds were soaked in hot water for 10 min and (T6) seed coats were removed. Each of these pretreatments was compared with the control (seeds without any pretreatment). As for viability after long storage periods, seeds from lots collected in four different years (2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010) were used. Results show that T6 was the best seed pretreatment, with an average germination rate of 69% followed by T5 pretreatment with an average germination rate of 23%. The other pretreatments had very low germination rates. The viability of seeds from 2008, 2009 and 2010 were 18.0, 20.5 and 19.7%, respectively. On the other hand, seeds from 2006 had a very low germination rate (12.7%). These results provide useful information on crop multiplication in nurseries and transplantation of A. cytisoïdes L. in the field.

Key words: Anthyllis cytisoïdes L., germination, scarification, seed pretreatment, viability.