Effect of Different Treatments on Seed Germination of Honey Locust (Gleditschia triacanthos)

Honey-locust (Gleditschia triacanthos) seeds, like those of many leguminous species, have hard and impermeable coats. Germination is thought to be enhanced when seeds are scarified or soaked in concentrated sulfuric acid or hot water. This experiment was separated into two parts: Scarification methods and stratification investigation. The result from the first experiment showed that acid scarification treatment for 1 hour was the best method for breaking their dormant period. However in the second experiment it was found that the honey locust seeds like those of many leguminous species do not have dormant embryo, because stratification did not affect seed germination and there was no significant difference between stratification treatment and control. It can be concluded that acid scarification without stratification is optimized in breaking honey-locust seed dormancy