The effect of CO ₂ concentration and temperature on the germination of F ₁ everbearing strawberry seeds

Increased atmospheric CO2 concentration and global warming widely affect agricultural production. Understanding the effects of elevated CO2 levels and temperature variations on crop production has become increasingly crucial. Strawberries, being C3 plants, are particularly sensitive to variation in atmospheric CO2 concentration and temperature. This experiment was designed to investigate how different CO2 concentrations and temperatures affect the germination rate of strawberry seeds. F1 strawberry seeds of two everbearer cultivars, ‘Estavana’ and ‘Soraya’, were exposed to 4 different CO2 concentrations (400, 800, 1200, and 1600 ppm) and three temperatures (17, 21, and 25°C) established in controlled environment growth cabinets. Results revealed that an increase in temperature from 17 to 25°C shortened the germination time by approximately 3.4 days. However, CO2 concentration did not have a significant impact on the germination time in either cultivar.