Studies on the Germination of Seeds of Miscanthus sinensis ANDERSS

This study was carried out to ascertain the adaptability of propagation, by seeds, of Japanese pampas grass (Miscanthus sinensis ANDERSS.) as coverring plants on the gradual land slope (cut or bank). The present report deals with the effects of gibberellin, pH and the temperature upon the germination and growth. The results may be summarized as follows: 1) Ripened seeds have small or no relations with the weight of the seed and the percentage of germination except for the difference of germination start namely, the germination start of larger seeds was accelerated more than that of the smaller, however, as for the percentage of germination at the final there were small or almost no differences between them. 2) Gibberellin proved itself to accelerate the seeds germination to a remarkable degree and to promote the seedlings growth conspicuously, but a concentration higher than 50ppm was found to increase the roots injured seedlings. On the other hand, the effects of gibberellin upon the breaking of dormancy were clealy observed, thus gibberellin is considered to be the best for the pretreatment of dormancy. 3) Germination occurs in the comparatively wide ranges of pH level. However, the seedlings growth was inhibited at high (8.5) and low (4.0) pH levels; moreover, the dry weight was markely reduced. 4) The seeds are capable of germinating over a wide range of temperature. The percentage of germination was observed at 15, 20, 25 and 30℃. From the above results, it seemed that the optimum temperature of seed germination is from 25 to 30℃ somewhat near to 25℃