Priming and Pelleting Native Boreal Seed for Land Reclamation

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In light of stringent regulatory standards and high costs of reclamation operations, the oil and gas (O&G)industry is motivated to innovate and introduce technologies that optimize the use of boreal seeds. The BorealResearch Institute proposes to develop and prototype two integrated technologies (priming and pelleting ofnative seeds) to enable commercial-scale direct seeding of native boreal species in forest reclamationoperations. Seed priming is a method by which seeds are stimulated to imbibe water such that the metabolicprocesses of germination begin. Seed pelleting is a technique by which seeds are encased in a coating. Foragronomic crops, where this practice is widely applied, the results are faster production and higher yields.Unlike many agricultural plant species, the majority of boreal native plant seeds are very small and manyundergo dormancy after maturation. Seed dormancy is often overcome by stratification and/or scarificationpretreatments. Although stratified seeds cannot be pelleted because they will lose viability quickly, seedpriming in combination with pelleting may be an alternative for native boreal seeds as priming will awaken theseed but hold it in a 'pre-germinated' state until re-moistened.To date, no known research has focused on coupling priming of native seed and pelleting. The objective of thisstudy is to assess germination and emergence of boreal native species in response to a combination of seedpriming and pelleting treatments. The project combines laboratory and greenhouse studies to develop primingand pelleting methods and techniques specific to each of the priority native boreal species.The combination of priming and pelleting has potential to 1) deploy seeds of uniform germination andemergence and 2) achieve faster, more complete vegetative cover which, in turn, provides early erosion controland the creation of micro-sites. Priming and pelleting, when prototyped and tested for use in forest reclamation,will result in a new, versatile tool for industry and SMEs.