On the Effect of Ultrasound and Thermal Treatment on Seed Germination in Bird's-Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.).

Bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) is a perennial species with lower seed germination ability because of the large share of hard seeds. To increase germinating ability, the trial was based on treating bird's-foot trefoil seeds with ultrasounds (at different intensities and for different periods of time); they were then kept for a few days at -3 0°C. Treatment results show that the control variant (not treated) reached a germination level of 57.80%, while the variant treated with ultrasounds and thermally reached a germination level of 94.53% (i.e. 63.5% more). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]