Abstract:

The water absorption and germination process for intact and de-winged seeds（winged perianth removed） of Angelica sinensis were determined to provide a theoretical basis for its artificial propagation. With intact and de-winged seeds of A. sinensis， and intact seeds being used as a control group（CK）， the 1000-grain weight， water content， volume， volume weight and water absorption ratio of seeds were measured， in the meanwhile， the germination test was proceeded under natural room temperature and in laboratory. Compare with CK， 1000-grain weight and volume of de-winged seeds decreased by 46.87% and 90.78%（P<0.01）， respectively. The volume weight and water content of de-winged seeds increased by 475.92%（P<0.01） and 20.15%（P<0.05）， respectively. The time ofwaterabsorption to reach stationary phase of de-winged seeds was 2.48 h， and was shorter than that of CK by 3.38 h， because the winged perianths significantly inhibited the waterabsorptioncapacity of seeds， and the soaking process fitted the logistic equation. Compared with CK， the germination potential， germination rate and germination index of de-winged seeds increased by 256.70%， 12.28% and 27.77%（P<0.01）， respectively. The volume and weight of A. sinensis seeds were decreased， the water absorption capacity and germination quality of seeds were improve by removing winged perianths. Therefore， the de-winged seeds of A.sinensis should be applied in agricultural production.

Key words: Angelica sinensis, winged perianth, seed characteristics, water absorption rate, germination quality