Effects of pre-sowing treatments and seed sources on seed germination of Phytolacca acinosa Roxb.

Abstract

Seed pre-treatments improve germination under diverse environmental conditions. The present study assessed the effects of pre-sowing treatments and various seed sources on seed germination of Phytolacca acinosa Roxb.- an important medicinal plant species growing in Kashmir Himalaya. Seeds were collected from five different sites of the Kashmir Himalaya, India, and were treated with 10 different pre-sowing treatments including control, gibberellic acid (GA3; 100 ppm), indole acetic acid (IAA; 50 ppm), indole butyric acid (IBA; 50 ppm), kinetin (150 ppm), potassium nitrate (KNO3; 150 ppm), thiourea (150 ppm), gibberellic acid plus scarification (GA3; 100 ppm+SC), mechanical scarification and sulphuric acid (H2SO4) treatment for 20 min. The highest seed germination (83.6%) along with the maximum seedling vigor index (SVI) of (7.92) was found in seeds treated with 150 ppm thiourea followed by scarified seeds treated with 100 ppm gibberellic acid (66.00%) and KNO3 (61.2%). The maximum germination index (GI) (0.70), mean daily germination (MDG) (6.69% seeds per day), and mean germination time (MGT) (6.58 days) were recorded for seeds treated with GA3 (100 ppm) plus scarification. Among the five seed sources, no significant differences were observed in the seed germination. However, pre-treatments, as well as the interaction effect of seed source variation and pre-treatments showed significant differences in the measured germination parameters (i.e., germination starting dates, closing dates, germination period, germination percentages, GI, and MGT). The treatment with thiourea (150 ppm), KNO3 (150 ppm), and a combination of scarification and 100 ppm GA3 are the most effective ways of enhancing the seed germination of P. acinosa. Present study will have significant implications for successful germination, large-scale cultivation, sustainable utilization, and conservation of P. acinosa by reducing its exploitation from natural wild populations.