The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different treatments on seed germination in the desert plant species Calotropis persica (Gand.). This species is known to have long time for seed germination considering arid region condition and short time of access moist. An experiment was performed with 13 treatments and 4 replications in a completely randomized design. Treatments included KNO3 with concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 percent, immersion in hot water for five？min, acetylsalicylic acid 100, 200, and 300？mg L？1, ethereal sulfuric acid (60%) for 5 and 10 min, thiourea with concentrations of 0.1% and 0.3%, and prechilling for 10 days. Tap water was used as the control. Our findings indicate that KNO3 0.1% and 100？mg L？1 acetylsalicylic acid were the most effective treatments for improvement of seed germination properties in this species. In a comparison of the two mentioned treatment, KNO3 0.1% treatments is the best. 1. Introduction Germination is a critical stage in the life cycle of weeds and crop plants and often controls population dynamics, with major practical implications. Seed germination is the critical stage for species survival [1, 2]. In recent 20 years, desertification has been recognized as a major environmental problem and is a major focus of United Nations Environment Programme [3]. Vegetation is a protector of the soil against water and wind erosion as well as a casualty of soil erosion [4, 5]. Each desert-inhabiting plant has its own complex of strategies that enables it to persist in desert habitats [6]. Strategies for improving the growth and development of arid region plant species have been investigated for many years. Treated seeds with chemical compound usually would exhibit rapid germination when absorbing water under field conditions [7]. Calotropis is a genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. They are commonly known as milkweeds because of the latex they produce. Calotropis species are considered common weeds in some parts of the world. The flowers are fragrant and are often used in making floral tassels in some mainland Southeast Asian cultures. Calotropis persica is growing in tropical region only. Iran is a country in the mid-latitude belt of arid and semiarid regions of the Earth. Approximately 60% of Iran is classified as arid and semiarid [8]. Based on results, the seed of full ripening fruits with scarification had the highest germination percent. [9] investigated the effects of salt stress and prime on germination improvement and seedling growth of Calotropis procera L.
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