Seed Germination Behavior, Molecular Analysis of Four Populations of Arbutus andrachne Species from Greece, and Cultivation Practice for Producing High-Quality Plants

Elias Pipinis (), Athanasios Stampoulidis, Aikaterini Angeliki Kotoula, Elias Milios, Stefanos Kostas (), Stefanos Hatzilazarou, Evgenia Papaioannou, Alexandros Papaeirinaios, Kyriaki Kitikidou and Kalliopi Radoglou
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Elias Pipinis: Laboratory of Silviculture, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Athanasios Stampoulidis: School of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Pandazidou 193, 68200 Orestiada, Greece
Aikaterini Angeliki Kotoula: Laboratory of Floriculture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Elias Milios: School of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Pandazidou 193, 68200 Orestiada, Greece
Stefanos Kostas: Laboratory of Floriculture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Stefanos Hatzilazarou: Laboratory of Floriculture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Evgenia Papaioannou: Laboratory of Soil Science, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Alexandros Papaeirinaios: School of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Pandazidou 193, 68200 Orestiada, Greece
Kyriaki Kitikidou: School of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Pandazidou 193, 68200 Orestiada, Greece
Kalliopi Radoglou: School of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Pandazidou 193, 68200 Orestiada, Greece

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: Arbutus andrachne , the Greek strawberry tree, is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae native to the Mediterranean basin, and is a valuable phytogenetic resource. In the context of sustainable exploitation of A. andrachne , four Greek natural populations of species were selected and a detailed germination protocol, molecular analysis, and cultivation practices were reported herein for the first time. The 1 month period of cold stratification or the treatment with gibberellic acid resulted in similar patterns of seed germination over a wide temperature range for all four populations. Differences among the four populations were observed in five of six morphological traits measured in 1-year-old seedlings. The 2-year-old plants grown in plastic bags (2.26 L in volume) showed superior growth rates. Foliage, but not roots, of 2-year-old seedlings supplemented with mineral fertilizers had higher fresh masses than untreated seedlings. The four A. andrachne accessions exhibited more genetic variability within than among populations.

Keywords: cold stratification; container size; fertilization; genetic variation; gibberellic acid; plant production (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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