Abstract
A pneumatic paint shaker was used to break seed dormancy in 2 reclamation species: New Mexico locust (Robinia neomexicana Gray [Fabaceae]) and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L. [Fabaceae]). This percussion treatment improves germination over hot water, sulfuric acid, or mechanical scarification methods because it acts directly on the strophiole—the natural site of water entry to the seed. Consequently, percussion scarification is more likely to produce undamaged seeds and healthy seedlings. This low-cost percussion system holds promise for successfully pre-treating seeds from a range of species of the ecologically important Papilionoideae subfamily of the Fabaceae family.
