Medicinal plants native to Iran are important source of remedies for many maladies. Cultivation of species is an objective to both improve their availability and to assist project that aim to analyse plants for the active ingredients. However, seed germination testing in the presence of dormancy in non-crop species presents problems in assesing seed quality for sowing. Seeds of 36 important medicinal plant species produced in North Iran (Mashhad) which had been stored in warehouses since October 2005 were tested for germination both with and without dormancy breaking treatments. On the basis of their behaviour without dormancy breaking, the species were classified into 3 groups: germination >60% (20 species); 40-60% (8 species); and <40% (8 species). Dormancy breaking treatments improved germination in species taken from all three groups. Effective treatments were GA3 (7 out of 11 species improved e.g. Hyoscyamus niger), KNO3 (1 species out of 5; Nepeta crassifolia), scarification (3 out of 4, e.g. Securegia scorpiodes), and prechiling (2 out of 5, e.g. Valeriana officinalis). The work continues to determine methods for all species showing dormancy to enable reliable assesment of seed quality and to improve the reliability of establishment in multiplcation plots. Pre-sowing treatments to improve establishment and the effects of storage conditions on germination and dormancy are also being investigated.

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