Germination Characteristics of Pincette Harvested Seeds in Strawberry Cultivars (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.)

Abstract

In order to clarify germination characteristics of pincette harvested seeds in cultivated strawberries, three different experiments were carried out, using pincette harvested seeds and blender harvested seeds of 'Sachinoka', 'Nyoho' and 'Asukaruby' cultivars. In 'Sachinoka' and 'Nyoho', the germination rates of the pincette harvested seeds were much higher than those of blender harvested seeds. However, the seed germination rates of 'Asuka-ruby' were less than 10% in the case of both seed harvesting methods. The germination rates of the blender harvested seeds which had no damage in appearance were much less than that of the pincette harvested seeds in 'Sachinoka'. Furthermore, the germination rates of out-crossed and selfed seeds in 'Sachinoka' were more than 90%, but those in 'Asuka-ruby' only were approximately 30%. From the results of these experiments, it could be considered that the pincette harvested strawberry seeds exhibited the gemination characteristics in nature, as compared with the brender harvested seeds.