Abstract
Successful seed germination is crucial in many plants. Natural substances and chemicals have been used as growth enhancement tools. In the meantime, natural substances are considered environmentally friendly and cost-effective. Hence, the present study was focused on the effects of natural substances such as red rice, white rice washed water, orange coconut, green coconut, and matured coconut water on radicle development of black gram, pumpkin, rice, and maize. Twenty-five healthy sterilized seeds (85%germination rate) of the above plants were pre-soaked in 30 ml of the natural suspension for 24 hours separately at room temperature and repeated twice. Then seeds were transferred to the sterilized petri dish with moistened filter paper and mean values of length of the radicle were measured. Data were subjected to one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (P<0.05) followed by Tukey test. Natural substances have not affected radicle development of the tested seeds, except pumpkin, and maize after 24hours whereas in the control radicle length of these two species was 5.48 and 0.68mm, respectively. However, interestingly after 48hours, radicle formation of most tested seeds was highly accelerated by red rice and white rice washed water, except for black gram. Hence, orange coconut, green coconut, and matured coconut water have showed an inhibitory effect on root length development, except for maize at 48 hours. On the other hand, among the selected natural substances red rice and white rice washed water revealed better effects on radicle development. So, they can be used as an environmentally friendly method to stimulate the radicle development.
Highlights
In many plants, successful seed germination is a crucial step in the environment
Sugar and minerals are the primary components of coconut water, Auxin (Indole Acetic Acid – IAA), Abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellins, and zeatin are phytohormones found in coconut water in varying quantities [3]
The presence of gibberellin, cytokinin and auxin in coconut water medium allows the translocation of glucose and amides from the storage area to the growth area, cell division and cell enlargement and the it will be a process of cell differentiation
Summary
Successful seed germination is a crucial step in the environment. Various methods can be used to enhance seed germination, such as chemical treatments (H2SO4, KNO3) and growth regulators [1]. Natural substances are considered better for the environment and cost-effective to accelerate germination. Sprouts get their nutrients from stored food rather than from the environment during the germination process. Coconut water is a natural source of growth regulators, known as phytohormones. [4], according to the auxin-cytokinin hypothesis, cytokinins, together with auxins, play an important role in plant morphogenesis by controlling the formation of roots and shoots and moderating their relative growth [5] and Gibberellic acid is a crucial chemical molecule in the process of seed germination. The phytohormone content of different coconut varieties is thought to have a different influence on seed germination [2]. The present study was conducted to screen the effect of selected natural substances on the radicle development of Oryza sativa (Rice), Cucurbita maxima (Pumpkin), Vigna mungo (Black gram), and Zea mays (Maize), which are most extensively cultivated crop in Sri Lanka, where these natural substances are low cost, eco-friendly and available
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