improvement of caper (capparis spinosa l.) germination using different treatments of seed dormancy breaking

different dormancy-breaking pretreatments were assessed in order to improve germination of caper (capparis spinosa l.) seeds. the caper seeds (capparis spinose l.) used in this study were obtained from a natural site near sirjan city for study. in addition to control treatments, three treatments including sulfuric acid, gibberellic acid and scratching were used to study germination. after seeding in petri dish, germination of each treatment was evaluated at the end of a 22-day period. results showed there was a significant different between treatments(p<.0.1). high germination percentages were obtained using concentrated sulfuric acid(48.2%), followed by scratching(44.9%) and two other treatmens, control(16.5%)and gibberellin(18.7%) fall into one group. the results indicate that the crust structure of the seed is a serious barrier to germination, and inexpensive methods such as scratching can have a practical effect on germination.