Increasing scope of the potential use of goat’s rue (Galega orientalis Lam.) causes a growing interest in this plant also in research. Due to the structure of the seed coat of goat’s rue, the seeds undergo scarification before sowing, which puts them at risk of pathogen infection. One of the more effective methods of disease prevention at the early developmental stages of plants is the application of chemical seed dressings, which may cause an increase in the proportion of dead seeds. Therefore, research on the response of goat’s rue seeds to the generally applied seed dressings is advisable. An experiment was set up to establish the germination energy and germinability, as well as the proportion of goat’s rue seeds (scarified or non-scarified) infected by fungi, treated with the following fungicides: Funaben T 480 FS, Raxil Gel 206 GF, Orius 02 WS, and Topsin M 500 SC. Goat’s rue seeds were obtained from a long-term experiment (years 2008-2010 only). After harvest and seed threshing, under laboratory conditions, energy and germinability, as well as the number of infected by pathogens and non-germinating goat’s rue seeds were determined. Observations were carried out after five and 14 days from the onset of germination. Analysis demonstrated that scarification increased seed germinability. Seed dressings did not affect the germination energy of non-scarified seeds, whereas scarified seeds displayed poorer germination energy in the first study season. Higher germinability was observed for treated versus untreated seeds, the differences between fungicides being significant only in 2008. It was also found that in the case of non-scarified seeds (after five days of germination), dressings did not diversify significantly the number of seeds infected by fungus diseases. After 14 days of germination, the number of seeds infected by fungi depended on the kind of dressing, season in which the seeds were collected, and the scarification process. Seeds, particularly the scarified ones, were best protected by dressings Funaben T 480 FS, Raxil Gel 206 GF, and Orius 02 WS.

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