Effect of various pre-treatments for breaking the dormancy of Helicteres isora Linn
Mudasir Qadir and Fatima Khan*
Govt. College of Science and Commerce Benazeer, Bhopal-462008 (India)
ABSTRACT
In the present investigation, seeds of Helicteres isora Linn. were subjected to various treatments to achieve early germination by breaking dormancy. It was found that on 17th day of sowing, the germination percentage was 16, 81, 61, 9, 20, 17, 18, 18, 16, 40, 53, 27, 50, 32, 68 and 75 respectively in the seeds kept as control, and those treated with hot water, subjected to scarification, stratification, alternate high and low temperature, KNO3, thiourea, kinetin, GA3, H2SO4, pre-soaking for 6 hours, electric current, mechanical injury, coumarin, brassinolide and IAA. Pre-treatment with hot water not only induced 65% germination on 3rd day but was also responsible for 81% germination on the 17th day after sowing. Thus, the best option for the germination of Helicteres isora seeds is pre-treatment with hot water