Effect of seed dormancy breaking treatments on seed quality and storability of forage legumes
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UASD
Abstract
Laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of seed
dormancy breaking treatments on seed quality and storability of forage legumes
during April 2012 to February 2013 at Department of Seed Science and Technology,
University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad. The seeds of Stylosanthes hamata,
Stylosanthes guianensis and Desmanthus virgatus were subjected to different
treatments viz., T0: Control (untreated), T1: Mechanical scarification, T2: Hot water
soaking for 5 min, T3: H2SO4 treatment for 2 min, T4: Soaking the seeds in 20%
Sodium hydroxide solution for 15 min., T5: Soaking the seeds in PEG-6000 solution
@ 200 g/litre for 48 hrs, T6: Soaking the seeds in 1000 ppm Ethrel solution for 24
hrs, T7: Smoke treatment (exposing the seeds to the Eupatorium odoratum smoke)
for 30 min and T8: Hot air treatment at 800C for 10 min in hot air oven. Monthly
observations were taken to know the seed quality.
The results revealed that in Stylosanthes hamata seeds which were
mechanically scarified with sand paper significantly recorded the higher germination
(73.5%), root length (4.30 cm), shoot length (4.62 cm), seedling vigour index (656),
seedling dry weight (25.75 mg), electrical conductivity (0.348 dS m-1), field
emergence (64.0%) and lower hard seed per cent (9.50) at the end of eleven months
of storage period. In case of Stylosanthes guianensis and Desmanthus virgatus, acid
scarified with conc.H2SO4 for 2 min. significantly recorded the higher germination
(80.0 and 60.3%), root length (4.10 and 4.45 cm), shoot length (5.45 and 6.73 cm),
seedling vigour index (756 and 673), seedling dry weight (31.00 and 30.00 mg),
electrical conductivity (0.410 and 0.452 dS m-1), field emergence (80.8 and 59.0%)
and lower hard seed per cent (zero and 15.75) at the end of eleven months of
storage period compared to other treatments. In all the three legumes maximum
viability and vigour maintained upto five to six months.
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