Can Ultrasound Scarification Be the Agronomic Solution for Cicer Milkvetch Establishment?
Project Title
Enhancing Cicer Milkvetch Germination Rate through Ultrasound Scarification
Researchers
Erick Santos (University of Alberta) [email protected]
Marleny Aranda Saldana (University of Alberta)
| Status | Project Code |
|---|---|
| In progress. Results expected in July, 2026 | POC.05.25 |
background
Forage legumes are often introduced into tame pastures to improve the nutritional value of grazing cattle diets. These legumes also tend to have greater crude protein and lower fibre concentrations compared to straight grass stands. Additionally, forage legumes form symbiotic relationships with a group of bacteria known as rhizobia, facilitating the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen into forms that are biologically available to forages on pasture. This process increases pasture productivity while reducing the need for synthetic N fertilizer, a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in agricultural systems.
While alfalfa is typically the forage legume of choice, offering producers multiple options, including ones that are bloat-free and allow operations to benefit from legumes on pasture regardless of year, soil type or management system. Cicer milkvetch (CMV) is one of these options. However, the greatest challenge when using CMV is its slow establishment due to the high proportion of hard seeds. These hard seeds limit CMV’s ability to germinate soon after planting. There are options to overcome this challenge, one being scarification which breaks down hard seed coats and allows water to penetrate, allowing for earlier germination and better establishment. However, mechanical scarification poses concerns regarding damaging the seed. This team seeks to quantify if the same benefits to germination can be replicated with ultrasound scarification without harming the seed, thereby making it an economical pasture rejuvenation option to Canadian beef producers.
objectives
- Preliminary exploration of the time and temperature range best to increase germination
- Evaluate the germination of the best-performing treatment against untreated CMV seeds
what they will do
In experiment 1, seeds will be washed, sterilized with 75% ethanol and rinsed with deionized water. They will then be left to dry at room temperature before being sorted randomly into groups of 50 and assigned a treatment which includes different temperatures (ambient, 25°C or 50°C) and times (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60 minutes) to ultrasound exposure. Germination will be observed at 7-, 10-, 14-, 17- and 21-days following planting.
Experiment 2 will test the best-performing treatment(s) from experiment 1 against untreated CMV seeds.
implications
If ultrasound scarification improves germination of CMV seeds, this could provide beef producers with a more economical bloat-free legume option to improve the nutritive value of their pastures without risking seed damage from mechanical scarification.