Effect of Breaking Dormancy Treatments on Germination of Ferula assa-foetida Seed

Asafetida (Ferula assa- foetida L.) is an important medicinal plant belonging to Apiaceae family and has long dormancy. In this research, vernalization, washing time, GA3, medium strength, harvesting time and interaction of these treatments were studied to optimize condition of germination. The results showed that vernalization at 4-5°C for two weeks increased germination by 50%, as compared with the control. Maximum and minimum germinations were obtained for 6 and 2 hours’ washing, which was 42% and 20.47%, respectively. Germination of Ferula was increased (41.5%) by using 10 mg/l of GA3, as compared with the control. In addition, using half strength MS media led to a 25% increase in germination. Moreover, germination mean increased by applying these treatments to one-year-old seeds, in comparison with fresh ones (61% and 36%, respectively). By running factorial experiments in the CRD, the best combination of treatments which could significantly increase germination was a combination of vernalization (4-5°C for two weeks), half strength MS media, GA3 (10 mg/l) and washing time (6h). Given the results of the study, for the purpose of breaking the dormancy of Asafetida, it is suggested that use is made of one-year-old seeds, and half strength MS media, along with right combinations of vernalization, washing time and GA3. &nbsp