Effects of different seeding treatments on germination rate and seedling growth of Pterocarpus santalinus

Pterocarpus santalinus is a rare species of rosewood with great historical and cultural value and practical value. But for a long time，the development of P. santalinus industry is difficult to sustain because of the rising domestic market demand and the lack of practical and efficient breeding technology. In this paper，different mechanical treatments and acid treatments before pod sowing were studied to explore the effects of different degree of mechanical treatments on the germination rate in current year and next year，and to find a quick and convenient pod pre-sowing method of P. santalinus through the innovative use of concentrated sulfuric acid for seed soaking with 10 min，20 min，30 min or 40 min. The results showed that P. santalinus pods had better seed vigor with mining sowing，and after one year of storage，the seed vigor decreased and it was difficult to germinate. Cutting fruit wings to visible seeds could increase seed germination rate to 73% for sowing in current year and 58% in the next year. The effect of concentrated sulfuric acid for seed soaking did not reach the expectation. And the effect of seed soaking was better within 10 min，the germination rate could increase to 37%，but the soluble protein content of seedling leaves increased significantly.