The germination and seedling survival ofCondalia microphyllaCav. in Argentina

The objectives of this work were to determine the basic germination requirements ofCondalia microphylla, one of the dominant woody species in the semi-arid region of central Argentina, in the laboratory and to evaluate seedling emergence and survival under field conditions in 1988 and 1989. The germination of unscarified seeds ofC. microphyllawas low. Acid scarification significantly increased (p< 0•05) germination in all cases; however, seeds subjected to other scarification methods did not germinate. The highest germination percentage of unscarified and scarified seeds occurred with a daily cycle of 15 h of darkness at 20°C and 9 h of light at 30°C. Light did not increase germination at the same temperature regime. The emergence and survival ofC. microphyllaseedlings were higher in 1989 than in 1988. In both study periods, the highest seedling mortality coincided with lower soil water potential and/or higher average soil temperature.