The effect of seed priming treatments on germination characters and seedling growth in Quercus castaneifolia, a native commercial tree species of northern Iran were studied. Seeds were collected in January 2010 and primed for 1 or 4 days in 1, 1.5 or 3% KNO3 or in tap water for 12, 24 or 48 hours. Priming improved the germination index, seedling diameter, seedling length, and dry weight; mean germination time decreased. The highest seedling length, seedling diameter and dry weight were also obtained following KNO3 treatments. We conclude that 1.5% KNO3 would be a useful treatment to improve seedling production and vigour of Q. castaneifolia seeds for use in restoration programmes.
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