Germination of Black Gram (Vigna mungo L.) Seed is Influenced by Different Storage Containers and Storage Periods

Abstract

Abstract A laboratory test was carried out to examine the influence of various storage containers and periods on the germination percentage of black gram seed. In this research, three seed containers, viz. sealed tin container, poly bag and gunny bag were used to store the seeds, as well as seeds were stored for three different storage periods, viz. 15, 30 and 45 days and thereby conducted germination tests. The results revealed that storage and storage periods considerably influenced the germination percentage (GP) of black gram seed. The highest GP of 87.73% was found in the seeds stored at sealed tin container, while the lowest GP (71.08%) was observed in the seeds stored in gunny bag. Among the three storage containers, the GP reduced rapidly in the seeds stored in gunny bags (6.52%), followed by poly bag (18.98%). The maximum values of GP (85.43%) of black gram seed were recorded when 15 days after storage (DAS), whereas the lowest GP (68.33%) was at 45 DAS, and the GP decreased noticeably with the increase of storage periods from 15 to 30 and to 45 DAS. In combination influence of storage containers and storage periods, the maximum GP (85.90%) was recorded at when seeds kept in sealed tin container with stored for the shortest duration (15 DAS), while the minimum (58.11%) was recorded in the seeds stored in gunny bag for the longest period with 45 DAS. Seeds stored in the sealed tin containers exhibited an excellent performance regarding GP with the shortest storage periods and, thereby, black gram should be kept in sealed tin containers or like this air tight containers for storage, as well as seeds should be sun dried after a short period for maintaining seed quality.