Effects of plant-derived smoke products on seed germination

Background/Question/Methods Plant-derived smoke has shown a possibility to stimulate seed germination for decades and its related products have been developed and tested in seed germination as well. In this study, We reviewed every available smoke-treated seed germination test (published 1990 to 2011), to analyze how smoke applications effect seeds germination. We found 110 papers from Africa, Australia, North America and other areas, covering 1101 species and124 families.

Results/Conclusions The results show that 43% of the tested species were stimulated by smoke treatments, 4% of species were inhibited, and 53% of species had no response to smoke. Considering the high percentage of non-negative impacts of smoke water and relatively low expense of treatments, smoke application has potential utility for restoration projects, especially for reclamation on post-mining sites.