Effects of utricle, temperature and different reagents on seed germination of Carex schmidtii

To solve the problem of low germination rate of Carex schmidtii seeds, we conducted research on the effects of temperature, utricle, NaOH, Gibberellins A3 (GA₃) and their mixed treatments on seed germination. The results showed that seeds could not germinate under a constant temperature environment, but could germinate under a variable temperature environment. Under 25℃/15℃ (25℃ during the day and 15℃ at night), removing the utricles significantly improved the germination rate and germination rate of seeds. Under the same environment, both GA₃ and NaOH treatments significantly improved the germination rate of seed without utricles, shortened the initial germination time, and broke the dormancy of seeds. The promotion effect of NaOH treatment was better than that of GA₃ treatment, but high concentration of NaOH solution was prone to corroding seeds, and the mixture of NaOH and GA₃ was the best (p<0.05). The optimal treatment conditions were as follows: the seeds without utricle were soaked in 1% NaOH for 2 h, then soaked in 0.2 g/L GA₃ for 2 h, and germinated in an environment of 25℃/15℃. The seed germination rate could reach 51.67% after 20 days. This study preliminarily revealed the germination characteristics of C. schmidtii seeds, discovered methods to break seed dormancy, and provided theoretical and technical support for the restoration of degenerated wetlands.