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Germination of Agave obscura seeds: effects of storage time and crossing systems

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Abstract

Agave reproduction can occur both sexually and asexually; however, the vast majority of species mainly propagate asexually. Seed germination studies are of great importance in conservation biology, ecological restoration, and the development of management plans. Our aim was to determine the effect of the crossing system and storage time on the germination success in seeds of Agave obscura (Agavaceae), a species endemic to Mexico. The seeds were derived from manual cross-pollination, manual self-pollination, and natural pollination, and had been stored for 19 and seven months. Germination experiments were conducted under controlled light conditions at 25 °C. The percentage of germination in seeds stored for seven months (76%) was higher than in those stored for 19 months (46%) (df = 1, dev.resid = 1439.6, Pr (> chi) =  < 0.05)) Crossing systems show effects in the percentage of germination (P(> │Chi │ < 0.05). The seed germination capacity decreased as a function of storage time. Seed storage time had no effect on subsequent seedling size, but pollination type did affect seedling growth. A. obscura produces viable seeds with germination capacity in a natural manner, which favors the maintenance of natural populations, although it’s necessary to evaluate other ecological processes such as the establishment of seedlings in the field and their survival in different age categories.

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Data availability

Field data are currently being analyzed for the preparation of another article, however, a portion of them are available upon request from M. Cuéllar-Martínez manuel.cuellarm@gmail.com.

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Acknowledgements

The Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) provided a doctorate studies grant in the INBIOTECA, UV (M.C-M No. 340509). We thank our colleagues at the Ecology and Biotechnology of Symbiotic Organisms Laboratory of INBIOTECA, Hassan Polo and Rubén Guzmán, for their help with the laboratory work.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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  1. Manuel Cuéllar-Martínez

    Present address: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación Para El Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Oaxaca, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, 71230, México

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada (INBIOTECA), Universidad Veracruzana, Av. Culturas Veracruzanas No. 101, Campus para la Cultura, las Artes y el Deporte, Col. E. Zapata, C. P. 91090, Xalapa, Veracruz, México

    Manuel Cuéllar-Martínez, Jorge Galindo-González & Antonio Andrade-Torres

  2. CA-173 Ecología y Manejo de La Biodiversidad, Veracruz, México

    Jorge Galindo-González & Antonio Andrade-Torres

  3. Doctorado en Ciencias en Ecología y Biotecnología, Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada de La Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, México

    Manuel Cuéllar-Martínez

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All authors contributed to the conception and design of the study. The preparation of the material and the data collection in the field were carried out by M.C-M. and with A.A-T. they carried out the analyses. The first draft of the manuscript was written by M.C-M. and J.G-G. All authors critically reviewed the manuscript and commented on earlier versions. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jorge Galindo-González.

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Cuéllar-Martínez, M., Galindo-González, J. & Andrade-Torres, A. Germination of Agave obscura seeds: effects of storage time and crossing systems. Plant Ecol 225, 189–199 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-023-01389-z

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