In total there were 8 separate conditions (excluding the germination test) that were used for this experiment.
Straight to glasshouse –9 pots were transferred directly to the green house immediately after the seeds had been sown. The reason for this was so that we could possibly prove that stratification had no effect on the rates of germination. This was the control condition that was used in the experiment.
The second condition involved keeping the pots in the walk in fridge which has a temperature of 4ºC over night.
The next condition required the 9 pots being left in the walk in fridge for 3 days at 4ºC. This is the standard stratification protocol for most stock centres, and as such this was the condition I was hoping to refine
The fourth condition was kept in the freezer for 1 hour. The freezers' temperature was -20ºC
Condition 5 was kept in the above freezer at -20ºC for 2 hours
Condition 6 again was left in the freezer at -20ºC but this time it was left there for 4 hours.
After collecting the results from the previous conditions (please see Results) it was realised and indeed thought prudent to take the experiment in a slightly different direction. As such two new conditions were devised for the experiment. Condition 7 required the use of Liquid Nitrogen. The reason liquid Nitrogen was used was because when the soil had been left in the freezer for 4 hours the temperature of the soil was measured at only -8ºC. This directed the experiment in a different way, as it was soon realised the soil would take longer to reach -20ºC than expected. The liquid Nitrogen was obtained from Cryoservice™ and is stored within -209ºC and -195ºC. One ladle's worth of Liquid N 2 was poured over the soil which already contained the seeds in the pot. The pots were then placed in the greenhouse along with the other conditions and left to grow over the course of the 14 days.
The Final condition was left in the freezer at -20ºC for 8 hours (overnight). The hope here was that the soil would reach -20ºC if it was left overnight, as opposed to the other conditions.
A germination test was also set up by cutting out some filter paper and placing it in a Petri dish. Water was added to the paper and 10 seeds were placed on it. The Petri dishes were then left on the window for a total of 10 days. This was done so as to prove that germination was occurring.
Abstract,Introduction,Germination,Dormancy,Temperature,Light,Ecotypes
Ecotype-Storage,Soil preperation,Seed Sowing,Germination-Conditions,Measurement of Results
Cond1,Cond1rep,Cond2,Cond3,Cond4,Cond5,Cond6,Cond6rep,Cond7,Cond8