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From Seed to Seedling: Influence of Seed Geographic Provenance and Germination Treatments on Reproductive Material Represented by Seedlings of Robinia pseudoacacia

The influence of the geographical origin of eight Romanian provenances of Robinia pseudoacacia on the characteristics of seeds, germination, and growth of seedlings in young stages of life was analyzed. Four experiments were undertaken to test seed germination (thermal treatment at distinct temperatures, mechanical scarification, acetone 90%, and biostimulator). The germination percentage showed that scarification treatment provided the best results among all treatments (41.7%). Seeds soaked in water at 100 °C provided the second-highest germination rate. Furthermore, the same two treatments also assured the highest values for the seedlings’ length. There were registered significant differences among the provenances for the analyzed characteristics, the seed germination capacity, and the growth rate of the seedlings in the first years of life. The study highlighted the resources that could ensure good quality of the reproductive forest material, which can be used in new afforestation and breeding programs. Pearson correlations and multivariate analysis provided interesting and useful information about R. pseudoacacia provenances and 13 characteristics of the seeds and seedlings, highlighting the relationship among them. The results could be of interest for the efficient use of forest genetic resources and the obtention of quality reproductive material in black locust.