Background: In Korea, seeds of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer need to be stored under cold temperature and high humidity condition for months to break physiological dormancy, making storage difficult until spring-sowing. This study was conducted to test the effects of seed storage conditions and seed treatment on the emergence of seedling after spring-sowing in a nursery greenhouse.
Methods and Results: After dehiscence, endocarp dried seeds in mild or completely, and wet seeds were stored in 2℃ and −3.5℃ during winter. Storage at −3.5℃ resulted in a lower emergence rate (ER) than that at 2℃, and additional cold (2℃) treatment before or after storage at −3.5℃ increased the ER. Endocarp dehydration prevented pre-germination at 2℃ storage and increased the ER of seeds stored at −3.5℃. ER was also dependent on the batch of seeds. However, seed treatments before sowing had only limited effects on ER. Root loss was the main reason for damping-off; prolonged cold storage of seeds increased damping-off, as the detection of pathogens was not high.
Conclusions: This study showed that storage conditions such as temperature and moisture content of seeds, affect the ER after spring-sowing and vitality of seedlings, suggesting further attention on seed control for secure seedling stands after spring-sowing.