Scarification (botany)

Scarification in botany involves cutting the seed coat using abrasion, thermal stress, or chemicals to encourage germination.

In botany

The seeds of many plant species are often impervious to water and gases, thus preventing or delaying germination. Any process of breaking, scratching, or altering the seed coat through chemical or thermal methods to make it permeable to water and gases is known as scarification. For mechanical scarification, seed coats can also be filed with a metal file, rubbed with sandpaper, nicked with a knife, or cracked gently with a hammer to weaken the seed coat. Scarification of seeds can also be achieved by imbibing them in concentrated sulfuric acid at appropriate concentrations and durations of treatment. Another scarification method involves the use of hot water for brief periods. Scarified seeds should be planted as soon as possible after treatment as they do not store well.

Scarification emulates the natural processes that over extended periods, and aided by microbial processes, lead to the permeability of seed coats. It is a standard technique in horticulture to facilitate the controlled and uniform germination of seed lots. ^[1] In the case of chaparral plant communities, many species' seeds require fire scarification to achieve germination; an exception to that phenomenon is Western poison oak, whose thick seed coatings provide a time delayed effect for germination, but do not require fire scarification.^[2]

See also

• Stratification (botany)

References