Abstract: Plant pod seeds of Hedysarum polybotrys were used in a germination test in order to explore the effect of seed pre-treatment methods. Several methods, such as soaking the peeled seeds, and soaking and stewing the unpeeled seed pods for 12 h, were compared with non-soaked, dry seed pods as a control. Results under natural illumination at 18-20℃ showed that germination dynamics in all pre-treatments followed S curve patterns that fitted to a logistic equation. Germination started days 2-6 and finished days 14-19. The pre-treatments showed significant differences in germination traits. The peeled and soaking pre-treatment and the soaking and stewed unpeeled-seed pods pre-treatment delayed peak germination by two days. The peeled and soaking pre-treatment significantly expedited germination while the unpeeled and stewing pre-treatment prolonged germination duration. All the pre-treatments for 12 h significantly improved germination quality compared with the control. The control had a germination rate of 34.7%, germination power 4.0% and germination index 1.865. The results for the peeled and soaked seeds were 80.7%, 54.0% and 7.083 respectively, that for the unpeeled stewed seed pods 64.0%, 13.3% and 3.462 respectively. The results thus show that pre-treating seeds by soaking or stewing can significantly improve germination quality. Improvements were highest in the peeled pre-treatment, where seeds showed over 80% germination rate.