Germination of Developing Prickly Sida Seeds

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Abstract
Freshly-produced, mature prickly sida (Sida spinosa L.) seeds (18 to 21 days after anthesis, < 20% water content) were dormant and neither imbibed water nor germinated when incubated for up to 4 weeks under several light and temperature conditions. Over 80% of the freshly-produced, immature seeds (12 to 16 days after anthesis, > 20% water content) germinated when removed from the mother-plant before dehydration and incubated in alternating 20 to 30 C for 4 weeks. The onset of dormancy coincided with the later stages of seed dehydration and coat-hardening. Over 90% of the mature seeds imbibed water and germinated when incubated at 35 C after 4 months dry storage at 25 C. A puncture through the seed coat, either over the radicle or cotyledons, permitted water imbibition by all mature seeds, but the puncture over the radicle was significantly more effective in inducing germination. Seed coat impermeability was important, but was not the only factor responsible for prickly sida dormancy.