effects of sterilization protocol and pre-chilling treatment on in vitro seed germination of levisticum officinale koch.

to protect and multiply important and rare plant resources, in vitro culture serves as a more efficient alternative to traditional propagation approaches. levisticum officinale koch. a member of apiaceae is an important, endangered and neglected species in iran, which has been shown to have diuretic, spasmolytic and carminative effects. in order to supply enough plant materials for micro-propagation of this herb and study effects of different methods of disinfection and stratification on in vitro seed germination, a factorial experiment laid out in a completely randomized design was set out to establish sterile plants out of seed culture. it was concluded that a pre-chilling treatment for 3 months resulted in maximum percent of germination (92%) and the largest germination rate. the best superficial sterilization protocol was proofed to be soaking in 70% (v:v) ethanol for 30 s and then, using of 2% (v:v) dilution of naocl for 15 min, followed by 3 rinses in sterile distilled water.