TITLE:
Field Seed Germination of the Medicinal Plant Origanum tyttanthum Gontsch. under Introduction Conditions in the Samarkand Region, Uzbekistan
AUTHORS:
Khurshida Boboyeva
KEYWORDS:
Origanum tyttanthum, Seed Germination, Sowing Date, Sowing Depth, Stratification, Medicinal Plant, Introduction, Central Asia
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.17 No.8,
August
26,
2026
ABSTRACT: Generative (seed-based) propagation is a key prerequisite for the successful introduction and cultivation of wild medicinal plants, yet field-level germination data for Origanum tyttanthum Gontsch., a medicinal species endemic to the mountainous regions of Central Asia, remain scarce. A three-year field trial (2021-2023) was carried out on irrigated typical grey soils (sierozems) of the Samarkand region to determine how sowing date, sowing depth, and short-term seed storage affect the field germination of O. tyttanthum seeds. Seeds sown in mid-October (200 seeds m−2) produced the highest germination rate (89.5 ± 2.19%), significantly exceeding rates obtained from early-October, late-October, and all three spring sowing dates tested (50.1 - 82.6%). Sowing depth strongly and inversely affected germination: shallow sowing at 0.5 cm gave the highest germination (89.0 ± 2.17%), while germination declined progressively with depth and was completely suppressed at 4 cm. Seeds were also subjected to a 40 - 45-day cold, moist-sand stratification prior to sowing to overcome physiological dormancy typical of Lamiaceae seeds. These results indicate that mid-October sowing at a shallow depth of approximately 0.5 cm, combined with pre-sowing stratification, provides the most favorable regime for field establishment of O. tyttanthum and can inform agrotechnical recommendations for the introduction, cultivation, and ex situ conservation of this medicinal species in arid and semi-arid regions of Central Asia.