Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Poor germination is the major problem of major legumes. Consequently, two sets of experiments in soybean and blackgram were set up in completely randomized design with three replications. The seeds were subjected to osmo-priming using polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%) and hydropriming at the Agronomy laboratory of Lamjung Campus. Number of seeds germinated, root, and shoot length were recorded each day. For soybean, hydropriming gave a 100% germination rate and highest radicle length (Pɘ.05), similar to the outcome of the 5% PEG. Hydropriming exhibited significantly fastest mean germination time (1.29 days), longest seedling length (19.86 cm), highest seedling vigor index (1986.67), and elevated germination index (214.34) (Pɘ.05). Conversely, the 10% PEG treatment demonstrated superior coefficient of velocity of germination. In case of blackgram, 5% PEG treatment demonstrated significant effects in various parameters like the seedling vigor index (SVI) (2080.73), mean germination time (1.13 days), and germination index (217.33). In contrast, hydro-primed seeds showed enhancements (Pɘ.05) in SVI (2080.73), radicle length (11.24 cm) and overall seedling length (21.16 cm). Higher PEG concentrations resulted in poor germination, with no germination observed in case of 20% PEG. The control recorded the lowest of values across all the aforementioned factors for both crops (Pɘ.05). This underscores the effectiveness of both hydropriming and priming with a 5% PEG solution for these crops. These results highlight the critical importance of priming to enhance germination in legume crops.
Authors: Aadarsha Timilsina, Sudikshya Shrestha
Institution: Tribhuvan University
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4407209250