The germination and seedling of immature seeds and embryos after anthesis 82~87 d of longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour. ‘Shixia’) were studied. The results showed that the germination and seedling rates of immature embryos sowed directly in clean sand were better than those of in vitro cultured immature seeds. Furthermore, although the germination time of immature embryos stored at 4℃ for 24 hours was slightly delayed in sand, there was no obvious inhibition effect on their germination rate and seedling growth. These results indicated that sowing directly in clean sand was a good way for immature seed and/or embryo rescue in sexual hybridization breeding of longan.
