EFFECT OF MOISTURE REGIMES AND FIELD PRACTICES ON GERMINATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF OPIUM POPPY (PAPAVER SOMNIFERUM L.)

Abstract

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is an important plant grown for opium extraction from its capsules. At present legal cultivation of opium poppy is going on in the three adjoining states of India viz. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In general, the germination of seeds of this crop is very good (80-95%) under laboratory conditions. Germination is poor under field conditions and farmers use higher quantity of seeds to establish normal plant populations. Therefore, there is a need to develop ideal field practices to improve the germination and reduce seed rate under commercial cultivation. A field experiment was conducted in November 2007 to evaluate the effect of two moisture regimes: sowing of opium poppy seed at 60% available soil moisture after applying presowing irrigation (I(1)) and sowing of opium poppy seeds in dry seed bed followed by irrigation (I(2)) with five field practices: sowing of seeds on soil surface (P(1)), sowing of seeds in 2.5 cm deep furrows and covered with soil (P(2)), sowing of seed in 2.5 cm deep furrows and kept open (P(3)), sowing of seeds in 5.0 cm deep furrows and covered with soil (P(4)) and sowing of seed in 5.0 cm deep furrows and kept open(P(5)). The seeds of cultivar 'Sampada' having 94 and 57% germination under laboratory and earthen pot conditions, respectively were used for these studies. The soil of experimental site was sandy loam in texture. As a result of the field experiment maximum germination percentage and plant stand (59%) was recorded in treatment combination I(1)P(2). The next best treatment with respect of germination percent and plant stand was I2P1 where germination was recorded as 35%. Results of these studies suggest that opium poppy should be shown at 60% available soil moisture in 2.5 cm deep furrows and furrows should be covered with soil in order to obtain higher germination rates and plant stand under field condition.