VARIABILITY OF SIGNS AND THE CHARACTER OF SPECIES SEEDS GERMINATION OF THE GENUS ALLIUM IN CENTRAL YAKUTIA

The purpose of research is to study the quality and nature of the germination of seeds of onion species growing in Yakutia. Mature seeds of 5 species of the genus Allium L., A. prostratum, A. ramosum, A. senescens, A. schoenoprasum, and A. splendens, served as material for research. The studies were carried out on the basis of the natural flora collection of the Botanical Garden at the IBPC SB RAS from 2014 to 2021, located in the vicinity of Yakutsk (Central Yakutia), under laboratory conditions in accordance with standard methods. The seeds of the studied onion species differ in shape, size and weight of 1000 seeds. A. schoenoprasum and A. splendens have a triangular seed shape, A. prostratum, A. ramosum and A. senescens have a wide-ovoid shape. By size, the seeds of the studied species are divided into 2 groups: large (weight of 1000 seeds is more than 2 g), – seeds of A. ramosum and A. prostratum, small (weight of 1000 seeds is less than 1.5 g) – A. splendens, A. senescens and A. schoenoprasum. The weight of 1000 seeds of the steppe species A. prostratum, A. ramosum, and A. senescens, as well as the forest A. splendens, are the most stable. In contrast to them, the smallest-seeded A. schoenoprasum exhibits noticeable variability in some years, not exceeding 17 %. The morphometric parameters of seeds are quite stable. The coefficient of variability in the size of seeds of the steppe species does not exceed 7–9 %; the sizes of the seeds of the meadow species A. schoenoprasum are more variable, and in the intermediate position, the forest species A. splendens. The study of the correlation between seed parameters (width, seed length and seed weight) showed that the number of statistically significant correlations between them is insignificant. Correlations between seed parameters and weather conditions were noted only in steppe plants; in the meadow A. schoenoprasum and forest A. splendens, no dependences of size and weight on the weather conditions of the growing season were found. A comparative study of the course of germination of freshly harvested seeds and after 5–6 months of storage in laboratory conditions showed that dry storage improves the quality of seeds. Stored onion seeds, depending on the species increase or retain high laboratory germination to varying degrees and increase their status (germination group) due to earlier and friendlier germination.