Effect of physical and chemical treatments on seed dormancy and storability of hedge lucerne [Desmanthus virgatus(L.) Willd.

Abstract

Hedge lucerne is an important forage legume cultivated in India. One of the major problems associated with this legume is hard seed coat which results in poor stand establishment because of reduced germination and un-uniform seedling emergence. Hence, it is important to overcome seed coat dormancy and improve germination for successful stand establishment. Therefore, a laboratory experiment was initiated to find out the best treatment to overcome seed coat dormancy and to know the storability behaviour of hedge lucerne seeds with different physical (mechanical scarification, hot water, smoke treatment, hot air oven) and chemical treatments (sulphuric acid, sodium hydroxide, polyethylene glycol-6000 and ethrel solutions). The results revealed that treating the seeds with conc. H2SO4 for two minute recorded maximum germination of 60.3% upto 11 months of storage followed by mechanical scarification with sand paper (48.0%). Further the seeds showing maximum germination also recorded the highest vigour index and lowest hard seed percentage. However, the seeds which were treated with hot water showed maximum death of the seeds compared to other treatments.