The effect of altitude on breaking seed dormancy and stimulation of seed germination of persian hogweed (Heracleum persicum)

Persian hogweed is a perennial herb and aromatic plant which has pharmaceutical and fodder values, and the main propagation method of this species is seed. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of altitude on breaking dormancy and stimulate seed germination of thisspecies. The study was designed and carried out using the test of seed analysis. For our purpose, seeds were collected from three differentaltitudes (1700, 2200, 2700 masl) in Kojoor area. After initial purification, germination percent (GP) and speed (GS) of each elevation were determined by cold stratification compared to control. According to results, control seeds did not germinate, showing that the seeds of this speciesneed to be treated. Statistical analysis of results showed that there are significant differences between GP and GS of each elevation, as seeds ofhigher elevation had slower and less germination in longer periods. So, changes in elevation are an effective factor on seed germination characteristics of this species and this factor has to be considered in seed preparation and restoration with this species.Keywords: Persian Hogweed, seed dormancy, seed germination, stratificatio