Seed germination of a newly discovered hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. affected by illumination and seed-soaking reagent.

Solanum nigrum is a newly found Cd-hyperaccumulator which showed very high remediation efficiency in polluted soil. Seed germination experiments with different illumination and seed-soaking reagents were conducted in constant temperature box and greenhouse with soil as burgeon base. The results showed that the germination rate with alternating light/dark photoperiod was about twice of that without lighting (p < 0.05), suggesting that illumination is one of the important conditions for seed germination of S. nigrum. All treatments with seed-soaking reagents significantly increased the seed germination rate of S. nigrum (p < 0.05). Treatment with H2O2 (0.1%) had the shortest germination time. The germination rate of seeds that were not washed in water following soaking was 2-3 times higher than that of seeds that were washed after soaking.