Effects of copper stress on seed germination of Feed Brassica napus L.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of copper stress on germination of Feed Brassica napus L. Using Petri dish-paper germination method, seed of Feed B. napus L was treated with different concentrations (0, 20, 40, 80, 160 and 320 mg/L) of CuSO4, and the length of radicle, fresh weight of embryo, germination rate, germination energy, germination index and lipase activity were measured. The results showed that low concentrations (20 or 40 mg/L) of copper could promote seed germination, and length of radicle, fresh weight of embryo, germination rate, germination energy, germination index and lipase activity were higher than that of the，control, and the effects of 20 mg/L copper was more significant. However, compared to the control, the high concentration of copper could decrease the efficiency of seed germination. Low concentrations of copper could stimulate seed germination while high concentrations of copper inhibit seed germination of Feed B. napus L.