Solvent pre-treatment effect on germination of creeping devil cactus (Stenocereus eruca) seeds

Abstract

Stenocereus eruca is a columnar horizontally grown cactus that can “move” on the ground
relatively fast. It is considered an endangered species and endemic to a very small extension
of land in Baja California Sur, México. Seedling recruitment seems to be a big problem for its
propagation; however, it can propagate asexually. There is strong evidence that seed pretreatment
with organic solvents affect seed germination ability. Thus, the objective of this
study was to determine the effect of treating chirinola seeds, collected from Puerto San
Carlos area, with different solvents in terms of rate and total germination. The experiment
was arranged in a completely randomized design using two different solvents (acetone and
dichloromethane) with four replicates of 25 seeds each one. Pre-treatment of chirinola seeds
with acetone increased total germination almost double (62%) as compared to the control
(32%). On the other hand, pre-treatment of the seeds with dichloromethane reduced total
germination to 0%. The use of this two solvent for pre-treatment of the seeds had very
different effect of germination making acetone a suitable solvent in order to increase total
germination of chirinola seeds.