Sodium concentration in germination blotters

Abstract

Walter filtrate from blue germination blotters was analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and found to contain 509 micrograms of Na+/g of blotter. Since this is a sufficient concentration to confound the results of some studies of seed germination and seedling growth, researchers need to be aware of this potential bias. The findings emphasize the necessity for documenting the quantity of cations present in medium used in germination and seedling growth evaluations.