Using liquid nitrogen for conifer plant seed conservation.

Ex situ preservation of seeds has been studied using a cryotechnique. Germplasm was in the form of seeds of the species genus Abies Mill., Cryptomeria Don, Metasequoia Miki, Pinus L., Platycladus Spach, Sequoiadendron Buchholz, Taxus L. and Tsuga Carr. The seeds were collected from the introduced conifer trees which are grown in the collection of the Lviv Botanical garden. The seeds packed in tight paper tubes without preliminary chemical treatment were dipped in liquid nitrogen (LN −196 °C) using direct immersion for a period of one month. After seed stratification, their soil germination in laboratory conditions was the same for a seed control variant (storage under 25−27 °C) and experiment (storage in LN). The treatment of the seeds with a chemical germination stimulus before planting did not affect their germinating ability. The experiments carried out over several years with the seeds of conifers of local introduction showed no influence of the physical or chemical exposure factors on the germination rate.