PJB-2006-163
STUDIES ON THE GERMINATION OF THREE ENDANGERED CENTUREA SPECIES
SEZGIN CELIK
Abstract
Centurea spicata, C. fenzlii and C. kurdica are widely used as ornamental plants in the Mediterranean and East Anatolian regions of Turkey. C. spicata occupies serpentine habitats in the macchia formations whereas C. fenzlii and C. kurdica cover basaltic and dolomitic habitats among the tragacanthic steppe. However, these species are facing a threat of extinction due to overexploitation. As such, an attempt was made to investigate the possibilities for their propagation. For this purpose, the seeds were placed for germination at optimum temperature (25 ± 1 0C) in different concentrations of KNO3, HCl and NaCl. Two different photoperiods (8 hours light-16 hours darkness-I and 16 hours light-8 hours darkness-II) were used to mimic the natural conditions. Studies on the germination of three species undertaken to evaluate the possibilities to cultivate the native populations at a large scale showed that C. spicata did not germinate at 3 % NaCl
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