International Journal of Agricultural

Science and Research (IJASR)

ISSN(P): 2250-0057; ISSN(E): 2321-0087
Vol. 6, Issue 3, Jun 2016, 337- 348
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF HORMONAL PRIMING (GA3) ON

SEED QUALITY PARAMETERS OF SOLANACEOUS VEGETABLES
SOUBHAGYA BEHERA
Research Scholar, Department of SST, OUAT Bhubaneswar cum AAO, Thuamulrampur, Odisha, India
ABSTRACT
The present experiment was conducted in a CRD with three replications to study the effect of different priming
agents in improving the seed quality parameters of solanaceous vegetable crops like tomato, brinjal and chilli. Fresh
seeds of four tomato, four brinjal and two chilli varieties were treated with GA3 (1 ppm), KNO3 (5%), Na2HPO4 (2%),
PEG (10%), ZnSO4 (1%), Ascorbic Acid (50 ppm) and Deionised H2O for 24 hours and then dried to original moisture
content under shade. Dried seeds were taken as control. Observations were recorded on germination/field emergence,
root length, shoot length, seedling length, seedling dry weight, seedling vigour index-I & II in both lab and field tests.
The above work was done at SST Laboratory, OUAT Bhubaneswar in the year 2014.As this is a student project paper as
per objectives papers may be developed.

Received: Apr 21, 2016; Accepted: May 13, 2016; Published: May 23, 2016; Paper Id.: IJASRJUN2016041

INTRODUCTION
To meet the potential challenge of catering to the food need of 1.4 billion people of our country by 2025,

Original Article

KEYWORDS: Solanaceous Vegetable Crops, Dry Weight

a quantum increase in agricultural productivity is very much essential, hence production and distribution of high
quality seeds of improved varieties of cereals, pulses, oil seeds and vegetables to the farming community is
becoming increasingly important. Vegetables constitute a major part in Indian agriculture in terms of providing
food and nutritional security. In recent past, Indian agriculture has witnessed a tremendous progress in vegetable
production, due to the advent of high yielding varieties and new technologies. Vegetables are important sources of
minerals, vitamins and other nutrients of medicinal and therapeutic value. Regular consumption of vegetables is a
must for the nutritional security of the household. The production and productivity of different vegetable crops
have been increased significantly in the past twenty years as a result of research and development pursuits
undertaken by agricultural institutions as well as private sectors. Modern strategic approaches are however
necessary for sustainable development of these crops so as to meet increasing requirement in both domestic and
export market.
Among vegetable crops solanaceous vegetables like tomato, brinjal and chilli have high demand in our
state as well as in the country. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important edible and
nutritious vegetable crop in the world. It ranks next to potato and sweet potato with respect to world vegetable
production. It ranks third in terms of world vegetable production. The demand for the crop is year round, owing to
the versatility of its usages both in fresh and processed food preparation. It gains more popularity due to its
antioxidant property. It is a very good source of vitamin A and C.

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Soubhagya Behera

REVIEW OF LITERATURES USED FOR STUDY

Priming Effect of GA3
Demir et al. (1994) studied the effects of GA3 on germination of two and five year old eggplant seeds. They
showed that GA3 unlike the control, significantly influenced germination percentage and germination rate.

Yogananda et al. (2004) noticed that bell pepper seeds invigorated with GA3 (200 ppm) recorded higher
germination, root and shoot length seedling dry weight, rate of germination and seedling vigour index over control.
Afzal et al.( 2008b) reported that maize seeds subjected to hormonal priming with 100 mgL-1 GA3 for 24 hours
resulted in a higher germination percentage and germination index, lower mean germination time and mean emergence
time.
Tzortzakis (2009) suggested that priming with Gibberellin (GA3) treatments in endive and chicory may improve
rapid and uniform seedling emergence and plant development in nurseries and/or in greenhouses, which is easily applicable
by nursery workers with economic benefits.
Sedghi et al., (2010a) reported that priming with GA3 caused an increase in germination percent of pot marigold
and sweet fennel in various range of salinity, but in lower salinity levels percent of germination was higher than upper
ones. The result of this experiment is consistent with the hypothesis that under undesirable conditions such as salinity
stress, priming with GA3 can prepare a suitable metabolic reaction in seeds and can improve seed germination
performance and seedling establishment.
Sedghi et al. (2010b) investigated the effects of GA3 (gibberellic acid) on germination and seedling establishment
of soyabean under salinity condition and reported that priming of seeds with GA3 was useful for alleviating salt stress
effects and improving germination and seedling establishment under salt stress.
Khan et al. (2011) reported that wheat seeds primed with GA3 (20 ppm) recorded minimum mean germination
and emergence time as compared to control.
Iqbal et.al (.2013) reported that the salt intolerant cultivar treated with GA3 in wheat plants might have faced less
stress compared with control. Thus, physiologically, GA3-priming-induced increase in grain yield was attributed to the
GA3-priming-induced modulation of ions uptake and partitioning (within shoots and roots) and hormones homeostasis
1
under saline conditions. Priming with GA3 (150 mg L ) was very effective in enhancing salicylic acid (SA)
concentration.
Kumar and Singh. (2013) reported that bitter gourd seeds primed with 100 ppm GA3 for 24 hours gave better
germination, field emergence, speed of emergence, seedling length and vigour index-I over the control.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present investigation has been planned to study the effect of priming agents on different seed quality
parameters. Priming is a technique to improve germination and seedling emergence in a number of vegetable crops in
general by reducing the time required for the seeds to emerge and produce seedlings. It is the process of controlled

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339

hydration of seeds to a level that allows pre-germination activities but does not permit primary root protrusion.
The experiment was conducted at the Department of Seed Science and Technology, college of Agriculture, Orissa
University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar. The details of materials used and methods adopted are described
in this chapter.
Seed Material
Fresh seeds of tomato, brinjal and chilli varieties used for the experiment were collected from All India
Coordinated Research Project on Vegetable Crops, Bhubaneswar. The list of the varieties used for the investigation were
given below:
Tomato
TV1 = UtkalPragyan TV2 = UtkalKumari TV3 = Utkal Raja TV4 = UtkalDeepti Brinjal
BV1 = UtkalJyoti BV2 = UtkalKeshari BV3 = UtkalMadhuri
BV4 = UtkalAnushree
Chilli
CV1 = Utkal Ava CV2 = UtkalRashmi
Priming treatment
T1 = GA3 (1 ppm) T2 = KNO3(5%)
T3 = Na2HPO4 (2%) T4 = PEG- 6000 (10%) T5 = ZnSO4(1%)
T6 = Ascorbic Acid(50 ppm) T7 = Deionised H2O
T8 = Dry seed(Control)
Seed Priming Procedure
Fresh seeds of different varieties of tomato, brinjal and chilli were taken in specimen tube. Prepared solution ofGA3 (1 ppm),
KNO3(5%), Na2HPO4 (2%), PEG- 6000 (10%), ZnSO4(1%), and Ascorbic Acid(50 ppm) were poured in to the specimen tube such
that all the seeds can equally be soaked. In case of hydropriming the seeds were soaked in Deionised H2O. Seeds were soaked in
solutions at ambient temperature for 24 hours.
Post Priming Operation
After priming for 24 hours the soaked seeds were removed and rinsed with distilled water for three times and re-dried
to original moisture content under shade. These seeds were then sealed in polythene bags and stored in refrigerator for further
use.
Laboratory germination test and seedling vigour
For germination test three hundred seeds were randomly taken from each treatment of each variety of tomato,
brinjal and chilli. Three replicates of 100 seeds were germinated between double layered rolled germination paper along
with control (dry seeds) and moistened with sterile distilled water, in an amount equivalent to 2.5 times the mass of dry
substrate, made into rolls, and placed into a seed germinator at 25C. Germination was considered to have occurred when
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Soubhagya Behera

the radicles were 3 mm long. The seedlings with short, thick and spiral form hypocotyls and stunted roots were considered
as abnormally germinated. Germination percentage was recorded on fourteenth day (final count). Observations were
recorded on germination percent, root length, shoot length, and seedling dry weight.
Root and shoot length was measured on 14th days. At the end of germination test (14 days), the seedlings were
dried in an oven at 100 C for 24 hours. The dried seedlings were weighted to the nearest milligram and then the mean
seedling dry weight was determined. Vigour index I (seedling length x germination percentage) and vigour index II
(seedling dry weight x germination percentage) were then calculated.
Field Emergence
For field emergence (%) test three hundred seeds were randomly taken from each treatment and each variety of
tomato, brinjal and chilli. Three replicates of 100 seeds were sown in aluminium trays (100 cm x 90 cm size) having sandy loam
soil and coconut coir pith. Field emergence (%) count was done on 14th days. Observations were recorded on field emergence
percent, root length, shoot length, and seedling dry weight.
Root and shoot length of field emerged seedlings of tomato, brinjal and chilli were measured on 14th days. At the
end of field emergence count (14 days), the seedlings were dried in an oven at 100 C for 24 hours. The dried seedlings
were weighted to the nearest milligram and then the mean seedling dry weight was determined. Vigour index I (seedling
length x field emergence percentage) and vigour index II (seedling dry weight x field emergence percentage) were then
calculated.
Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis
Laboratory as well as field tests were carried out in a completely randomised design with three replications.
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of laboratory and field data were calculated using SAS 9.3 version.
Estimation of Cumulative Germination Index, Cumulative Seedling Vigour Index and Seed Quality Index (SQI) of
Priming Treatments
The efficacy of different priming treatments was judged in terms of cumulative germination index, cumulative
seedling vigour index and seed quality index (SQI).These indices are calculated as follows. Using suitable class intervals,
the range of variability with regard to a character is classified into three groups such as low, medium and high. Each
character is scored as 0 for low value, 1 for medium value and 2 for high value. The cumulative germination index is
calculated by adding the scored values of lab germination percent and field emergence percent; cumulative seedling vigour
index is calculated by adding the scored values of lab SV-I & SV-II and field SV-I & SV-II.
Seed quality index is calculated by adding the scored values of the characters such as germination percentage,
vigour index I and II of lab emerged seedlings, field emergence (%) vigour index I and II of field emerged seedlings.
Higher SQI value produced by a priming treatment indicates its higher efficacy.

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A Study on the Effect of Hormonal Priming (GA3) on Seed

Quality Parameters of Solanaceous Vegetables

341

Figure 1: Photos of Tomato Variety

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Figure 2: Photos of Brinjal Variety

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The present investigation was aimed to study the efficacy of different priming chemicals in improving seed
quality parameters of tomato, brinjal and chilli. The lab-test and field emergence test both were carried out in a completely
randomised design with three replications. Statistical analysis was done using SAS 9.3 version software. The result was
presented under following sub-heads.
Effect of priming agents on seed quality parameters of tomato

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343

Effect of priming agents on seed quality parameters of brinjal

Effect of priming agents on seed quality parameters of chilli
Evaluating the efficacy of priming treatments
Effect of priming agents on seed quality parameters of tomato
Germination
Germination count is an important physiological parameter which is generally used to assess the planting value of
seeds. In the present study priming treatments with different chemicals significantly influenced final germination count of
all tomato varieties (Table 1). The germination response of all cultivars to the priming treatments was almost similar.
Priming with GA3 (1 ppm) recorded maximum germination count followed by KNO3 (5%). In case of cultivars Utkal
Pragyan (TV1), Utkal Raja (TV3) and Utkal Deepti (TV4) there was no significant differences between these two priming
treatments. But in case of Utkal Kumari (TV2) the effect of GA3 and KNO3 were significantly different from each other.
In Utkal Pragyan germination was found to be increased by 26.76%, 23.94%, 19.72%, 14.52%, 14.08%, 7.04% and 9.89%
when seeds were primed with GA3, KNO3, Na2HPO4, PEG, ZnSO4, Ascorbic Acid and deionised water
respectively as compared to unprimed seeds. In Utkal Kumari germination was increased by 30.56%, 25.93%, 20.83%,
13.43%, 14.82%, 10.18% and 12.03% when primed with GA3, KNO3, Na2HPO4, PEG, ZnSO4, Ascorbic Acid and
deionised water respectively as compared to control. In Utkal Raja germination was increased by 28.38%, 25.59%,
23.26%, 13.03%, 13.49%, 10.24%, and 11.64%
when primed with GA3, KNO3, Na2HPO4, PEG, ZnSO4, Ascorbic Acid and deionised water as compared to
control. In Utkal Deepti germination was increased by 31.31%, 28.04%, 23.37%, 27.17%, 17.76%, 7.92% and 9.81% when
primed with GA3, KNO3, Na2HPO4, PEG, ZnSO4, Ascorbic Acid and deionised water respectively as compared to
unprimed seeds. Average germination response of tomato varieties to different priming treatments indicated that Utkal
Deepti had comparatively better response followed by Utkal Kumari. The above result indicated that GA3 had recorded the
highest germination percentage and Ascorbic Acid the least. The mean effect of treatments across the varieties focused
more emphasis on GA3 in enhancing germination followed by KNO3 and Na2HPO4 (Figure 3). The above result indicated
that GA3 and KNO3 were at par in improving the germination of fresh seeds of tomato.
Table 1: Effect of Priming Treatments on Germination Percent of Tomato Varieties
Priming Treatment Utkal Pragyan Utkal Kumari Utkal Raja
GA3 (1 ppm)
90.00(71.58) 94.00(75.85) 92.00(73.65)
KNO3(5%)
88.00(69.78) 90.66(72.25) 90.00(71.57)
Na2HPO4 (2%)
85.00(67.22) 87.00(68.87) 88.33(70.27)
PEG (10%)
81.33(64.41) 81.67(64.66) 81.00(64.41)
ZnSO4(1%)
81.00(64.16) 82.67(65.41) 81.33(67.24)
Ascorbic Acid (50 ppm) 76.00(60.67) 79.33(62.96) 79.00(63.67)
Deionised H2O
78.00(62.03) 80.66(63.91) 80.00(65.73)
Dry seed(Control)
71.00(57.42) 72.00(58.06) 71.66(57.91)
Average
81.29
83.5
82.92
CD(1%)
2.81
2.52
7.14
CV %
1.83
1.59
4.48
* Number inside the parenthesis indicates arcsine transformed value

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Utkal Deepti
93.66(75.49)
91.33(72.95)
88.00(64.90)
90.66(72.29)
84.00(66.43)
77.00(67.77)
78.33(64.66)
71.33(57.66)
84.29
3.85
2.38

Mean
92.42
90.00
87.00
83.67
82.25
77.83
79.25
71.25

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GA3 (1 ppm), KNO3(5%), Na2HPO4 (2%), PEG (10%)ZnSO4(1%), Ascorbic Acid(50ppm)

Deionised H2ODry seed(Control)
Treatments
Figure 3: Effect of Priming Treatments in Increasing Germination Per Cent of Tomato as Compared to Control
Root Length
Priming treatments had significant effect on enhancing root length of all tomato varieties (Table 2) as compared to
dry seeds (control). In Utkal Pragyan hydro priming produced the highest root length of 5.71 cm followed by GA3 (4.55)
as compared to unprimed seeds (2.54 cm) and the effect of hydro priming was significantly different from all other priming
treatments. In Utkal Kumari PEG recorded the maximum root length of 6.42 cm followed by Na2HPO4 (6.28 cm). In
Utkal Raja PEG recorded the maximum root length of 7.04 cm followed by ZnSO4 (6.70 cm). Maximum root length (6.04
cm) in Utkal Deepti was attained by PEG followed by Na2HPO4. Comparing the mean effect of all the treatments on root
elongation it was found that root length increased by 41.3%, 24.9%, 44.7%, 48.6%, 24.2%, 32.7% and 43.4% when seeds
were primed with GA3, KNO3, Na2HPO4, PEG, ZnSO4, Ascorbic Acid and deionised water respectively as compared to
unprimed seeds. This result indicated that PEG has more positive effect in increasing root length.
Table 2: Effect of Priming Treatments on Root Length (cm) of Tomato Varieties
Priming Treatment Utkal Pragyan Utkal Kumari Utkal Raja Utkal Deepti
GA3 (1 ppm)
4.55
5.95
6.51
4.75
KNO3(5%)
3.68
4.58
6.25
4.71
Na2HPO4 (2%)
4.39
6.28
6.02
5.57
PEG (10%)
3.39
6.42
7.04
6.04
ZnSO4(1%)
2.06
5.06
6.70
5.28
Ascorbic Acid(50 ppm)
2.88
6.08
6.29
5.20
Deionised H2O
5.71
5.67
6.59
4.12
Dry seed(Control)
2.54
4.50
4.60
3.77
CD(1%)
0.39
0.46
0.59
0.47
CV %
4.46
3.50
3.96
4.01

Mean
5.44
4.81
5.57
5.72
4.78
5.11
5.52
3.85

Shoot Length
Effect of priming treatments on shoot length is presented in Table 3. In Utkal Pragyan hydro priming produced the
highest shoot length of 8.05 cm followed by GA3 (7.59 cm) as compared to unprimed seeds (6.42 cm) and the effect of
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A Study on the Effect of Hormonal Priming (GA3) on Seed

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345

hydro priming was significantly different from all other priming treatments. Priming of Utkal Pragyan with
Na2HPO4(2%), ZnSO4 (1%) and Ascorbic Acid(50ppm) produced the shoot length of 5.60 cm, 5.62 cm and 5.46 cm
respectively and these treatment effects were not significantly less than shoot length produced by unprimed seeds. In Utkal
Kumari the highest shoot length (8.82 cm) was produced by KNO3 (5%) followed ZnSO4 (1%) which were significantly
different from unprimed seeds but at par with GA3. Utkal Raja attained its maximum shoot length when primed with
Na2HPO4 followed by ZnSO4. All the priming treatments had positive effect on shoot length of Utkal Raja. KNO3 (5%)
recorded the maximum shoot length (8.44 cm) in Utkal Deepti and it was at par with GA3, Na2HPO4, ZnSO4, Ascorbic
Acid and deionised water. The mean effect of the treatments over the varieties proved the efficacy of KNO3 in increasing
shoot length as compared to other treatments.
Table 3: Effect of Priming Treatments on Shoot Length (cm) of Tomato Varieties
Priming Treatment Utkal Pragyan Utkal Kumari Utkal Raja Utkal Deepti
GA3 (1 ppm)
7.59
8.13
7.28
7.48
KNO3(5%)
7.19
8.82
8.08
8.44
Na2HPO4 (2%)
5.60
7.63
8.93
8.35
PEG (10%)
7.21
7.82
7.17
7.25
ZnSO4(1%)
5.62
8.68
8.70
7.41
Ascorbic Acid(50 ppm)
5.46
7.42
6.78
7.86
Deionised H2O
8.05
6.60
7.55
7.70
Dry seed(Control)
6.42
7.32
5.65
4.84
CD(1%)
1.08
0.89
0.96
1.05
CV %
3.21
4.78
4.89
4.04

Mean
7.62
8.13
7.63
7.36
7.60
6.88
7.48
6.06

Seed priming is a technique that is followed to enhance seed quality notably with respect to rate and uniformity of
germination (Taylor et al. 1998), thereby improving seedling stand and enabling better crop establishment
(Job et al. 2000). Various priming techniques have been followed to increase the speed and synchrony of seed germination
(Bradford, 1986). Improved seed invigoration techniques are well known to reduce emergence time, accomplish uniform
emergence and give better crop stand in many horticultural and field crops and these includes hydro priming,
osmoconditioning, hormonal priming and soaking before sowing ( Ashraf and Foolad, 2005). In the present study
solanaceous vegetable seeds such as tomato, brinjal and chilli were treated with different priming agents
(osmopriming, halopriming and hydro priming) in order to study their effect on different seed quality parameters.
Osmopriming is the most common method of priming used by solutions with low osmotic potential (e.g. NaCl, KNO3,
Na2HPO4, K2HPO4; large molecular weight polymer such as polyethyl glycol-6000; Farooq et al., 2005). In primed seeds
usually high germination rate, high germination uniformity and in some cases high final germination is shown
(Basra et al., 2005). Freshly harvested tomato seeds sometimes fail to germinate due to presence of dormancy
(Mirabi and Hasanbadi, 2012). Under such situation controlled hydration of seeds followed by drying (seed priming) is
used to break dormancy and improve uniformity of radicle emergence (Liu et al., 1996). The rate of germination and
improvement of seedling stands were also accelerated as a result of osmopriming in tomato (Corbineau et al., 2000) as well
as carrot, onion and lettuce (Jeong et al., 2000 b).
In the present investigation it was observed that priming of tomato, brinjal and chilli seeds with GA3 had
significantly increased germination as well as field emergence percent as compared to unprimed seeds. This may be due to
its effect on seed physiological activity. Saeedipour (2013) reported that cowpea seeds treated with GA3 shown better

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performance in overall seedling characters. Das et al.(2014) reported that treatment of fresh bottle gourd seeds with GA3
(500 ppm) for 24 hours gave significantly maximum germination than dry seeds. Khan et al. (2011) reported that wheat
seeds primed with GA3 (20 ppm) recorded minimum mean germination and emergence time as compared to control. In
the present study GA3 recorded the maximum SV-I in tomato, brinjal and chilli. This vigour enhancement by using
growth regulator as priming agent might be due to increased cell division within the apical meristem of seedling root,
which caused an increase in plant growth (Khan et al., 2011). Moreover, hormonal treatments maintain the IAA and
cytokinin levels in the plant tissues, which enhances the cell division (Sukhabutdinova et al., 2003).
Demir et al. (1994) studied the effects of GA3, KNO3 and PEG on germination of two and five year old eggplant
seeds. They showed that GA3 and KNO3 in particular and unlike the control, significantly influenced germination
percentage and germination rate. Farooq et al.(2005) studied the effect of priming on fresh seeds of four tomato cultivars
and reported that KNO3(3%) had greater impact in improving seed germination of all the cultivars. Trigo and Trigo (1999)
observed that the priming in water and KNO3 is efficient to improve germination of eggplant seeds. Nascimento and Lima
(2008) that priming of eggplant seeds in PEG decreased germination, while the use of KNO3 provided the best result. Piri
et al. (2009) recommended that KNO3 can be used as a suitable priming material to enhance cucumber seed germination at
low temperature. Reis and de G.E. et al. (2012) suggested that priming in water or KNO3 improved germination in brinjal.
Dutta et al. (2015) while working in birds eye chilli observed 1% KNO3 recorded the highest germination percentage as
compared to non primed control. Das et al. (2014) reported that Na2HPO4 had positive effect in increasing germination
percent, field emergence percent, mean germination time and seedling vigour.
In the present study hydropriming has also positive effect in improving seed quality parameters as compared to
dry seeds. Ghassemi et al. (2008) reported that hydro priming resulted in higher seedling emergence in the field compared
to seed priming with PEG 6000 in lentil. Harris et al. (1999) demonstrated that on-farm seed priming (soaking seeds
overnight in water) markedly improved establishment and early vigour of upland rice, maize and chickpea, resulting in
faster development, earlier flowering and maturity and higher yields. This simple, low cost, low-risk intervention also had
positive impacts on the wider farming system and livelihoods and the technology has proved highly popular with farmers
(Hariss et al., 1999, 2001). The positive effect of hydro priming may be due to the maintenance of tissue water content,
increase in antioxidant activities and carbohydrate metabolism (Farooq et al., 2008). Hydro priming had more SQI than
Ascorbic acid and control but less SQI than other priming treatments.
Araby and Hegazi (2004) studied osmo-priming effect of PEG in tomato seeds and observed the best results with
a priming duration of 7 days and direct sowing. Farooq et al. (2005) reported that PEG had positive impact in improving
root length of all the cultivars.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The present experiment was conducted to study the effect of different priming agents in improving the seed
quality parameters of important solanaceous vegetable crops like tomato, brinjal and chilli. Fresh seeds of four tomato,
four brinjal and two chilli varieties were treated with GA3 (1 ppm), KNO3 (5%), Na2HPO4 (2%), PEG (10%), ZnSO4
(1%), Ascorbic Acid(50 ppm) and Deionised H2O for 24 hours and then dried to original moisture content under shade.
Lab germination test was done following between paper method. For field emergence test primed seeds of different
vegetable varieties were sown in aluminium trays containing sandy loam soil mixed with coconut coir pith.
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347

Observations were recorded on germination/field emergence, root length, shoot length, seedling length, seedling dry
weight, seedling vigour index-I & II in both lab and field tests. The experiments were done in a completely randomised
design with three replications. The classification of priming treatments was done through scatter plot of cumulative
germination index and cumulative seedling vigour index and the efficacy of priming treatments was expressed in term
of seed quality index (SQI). Results obtained in tomato, brinjal and chilli were presented below.
Tomato

The mean effect of treatments across the varieties showed that germination was increased by 29.7%, 26.3%,
22.1%, 17.4%, 15.4%, 9.2% and 11.2% when seeds were primed with GA3, KNO3, Na2HPO4, PEG, ZnSO4,
Ascorbic Acid and deionised water respectively as compared to unprimed seeds, indicating that GA3 and KNO3
had more positive effect in improving the germination of fresh seeds of tomato.

From the mean effect of all the treatments on root elongation it was found that PEG has more positive effect in
increasing root length.

The mean effect of the treatments over the tomato varieties proved the efficacy of KNO3 in increasing shoot
length as compared to control and other treatments.

Mean effect of the treatments showed that Na2HPO4 was more effective in increasing the seedling length as
compared to control and other treatments.

Mean effect of GA3 was more pronounced in increasing dry weight followed by ZnSO4 as compared to control
and other treatments.

Mean effect of the treatments in respect of SV-I increased by 70.93%, 64.81%, 62.79% , 55.04%, 43.36% ,
32.46% and 45.98% when the seeds were primed with GA3, KNO3, Na2HPO4, PEG, ZnSO4, Ascorbic Acid and
deionised water respectively indicating that GA3 is the best in enhancing SV-I.

From the mean effect of the treatments it was revealed that GA3 was more positive in increasing SV-II.

Comparing the mean effect of all the treatments on FEP it was found that FEP increased by 28.8%, 24.7%, 22.0%,
17.7%, 14.4%, 9.3% and 10.7% when seeds were primed with GA3, KNO3, Na2HPO4, PEG, ZnSO4, Ascorbic
Acid and deionised water respectively as compared to unprimed seeds. This result indicated that GA3 was the
efficient priming agents in increasing FEP as compared to control and other treatments.

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