International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 5, Issue 7, July 2015)

Assessment of Seed Priming Methods for Early growth and Nodulation in Green gram (Vigna radiata L.) Vivekananda V1, A. K. Chaurasia2, Arvind Kumar3, Amarnath B. H4 1,4

M. Sc. Scholar, 2Associate Professor, 3Ph. D. Scholar, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding Allahabad School of Agriculture, Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences, Allahabad, (U.P.), India. Sprouts grain contain high quality protein which are easily digestible and relatively rich in amino acids like lysine, leucine, phenylalanine, valine and isoleucine. Green gram does not cause flatulence that many other legumes may cause. The Net availability of total pulse is estimated to be 31.6 g/day during 2010 was less when compared against 37.0 g/day during 2009 (Directorate of Economics and Statistics). Green gram is grown on a variety of soil ranging from sandy loam to heavy black cotton soils. Green gram crop cannot withstand water logging during major growth stages. A well-drained soil with pH ranging from 5.0 to 7.5 is ideal for its seed production and cultivation. Problematic soils like Saline, Alkali and Acidic are not suitable for seed production. The yield potential of green gram in research plot is 10 – 12 quintals per hectare as against 8 – 9 quintals per hectare in farmer’s field. The National average yield is still low at 4 – 5 quintals per hectare. This yield gap needs to be addressed by improving seed production packages and supply of good quality seeds to the farmers. The supply of certified/ quality seed is 1.76 lakhs quintal during the year 2010 – 2011. In India about 70 per cent of cultivated land is under rainfed condition. The low productivity under rainfed condition is due to soil moisture deficit, uneven rainfall, low soil fertility and poor crop management. The successful establishment of crop mainly depends upon good quality seed. To provide higher quality seeds, scientists have developed new technologies called “Seed Enhancement Techniques”. The main objective of this technique is to optimize the application of seed treatment products by improving the technical quality of seeds. The two important enhancement technologies are seed coating and seed priming that have been employed successfully for many crops. This enhancement technology is the key interface between the two highly specialized industries viz., crop protection and the seed industry. Priming is the method used to improve stand establishment in several crops. Seed priming is a process in which seeds are imbibed either in water or in osmotic solution or combination of solid matrix carrier and water in specific proportion followed by drying before radical emergence.

Abstract--Green gram (Vigna radiate L.) is also known as mung bean or golden bean belongs to the family Leguminosae. Green gram is a short duration crop and mainly cultivated as a rainfed crop under rice fallow condition and irrigated crop. The low productivity under rainfed condition is due to soil moisture deficit, uneven rainfall, low soil fertility and poor crop management. The present study will emphasize on the effect of seed priming using various methods like hydropriming (Distilled water), halopriming (NaCl-10 mM/l, KCl-10 mM/l), osmopriming (Polyethylene glycol-20%, Glycerol-5%) and organic priming (Neem leaf extract-5 %, Eucalyptus leaf extract-5 %) for eight and twelve hours respectively on seed and seedling characteristics like field emergence, plant height and nodulation in green gram cv. SCM-903. From the present study, it could be concluded that green gram seeds should be primed with KCl-10 mM/l for 12 hours to enhance the seedling quality and nodulation under adverse environmental conditions. In addition, green gram seeds may also be primed with PEG – 20% solution for 12 hrs to get the similar results. Keywords-- Green gram, Methods of Priming, Duration, Seedling Quality, Nodulation.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Green gram (Vigna radiate L.) is native of India and Central Asia. It is the third important pulse crop cultivated throughout India. In India, Green gram was cultivated over an area of five million hectare with annual grain production of two million tonnes. The major green gram producing states are U.P. and Andhra Pradesh occupies the first two positions, contributing over 40%. Maharashtra contributes about 14% while Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh account for about 10% and t 8.5% respectively of total production in the country (Ministry of Agriculture, GOI. 2014). Green gram is consumed in several ways in southern India as whole grain or broken cotyledon. Green gram is used to prepare Kichadi and Pongal in Tamilnadu. It is an important dietary protein food to humans. In addition to protein (23.86 g), it supplies fibre (16.3 g), fat (1.15 g), vitamins like A, C, B, Niacin, Minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, sugars (6.6 g) and carbohydrates (62.62 g) per 100 g of grain (source: USDA Nutrient Database).

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 5, Issue 7, July 2015) It is reported that seed priming is one of the most important developments to help rapid and uniform germination and emergence of seeds and to increase seed tolerance to adverse environmental conditions (Heydecker et al., 1973, 1975; Harris et al., 1999). Seed priming has presented promising, and even surprising results, for many seeds including the cereal seeds (Bradford1986). II.

Number of nodules per plant: Ten plants from each treatment plot in three replication were uprooted 30 and 45 days after seeding (DAS), and the extent of nodulation was estimated by carefully washing the roots and detaching the nodules before counting.(Khan 2006). Nodule fresh weight: After washing the root nodules from the field the nodules were detached from the plant roots and weighed in an electronic weigh balance for fresh weight of root nodules expressed in grams (gm). Dry weight of root nodules: After taking the fresh weight the root nodules they are kept in butter paper and kept in oven for drying at 80oC for 24 hrs and then weighed for dry weight of nodules expressed in milligrams (mg) (Khan 2006).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present investigation was carried using genetically pure seeds of green gram cv. SCM-903. Experiment was conducted in the Field Experimentation Centre, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences (DeemedUniversity), Allahabad. After cleaning and grading, the seeds were soaked in respective priming solutions at 1/3rd volume of seeds for eight and twelve hours. Then the seeds were air dried under the shade to bring back to their original moisture content and used for sowing.

III.

RESULT AND D ISCUSSIONS

Osmopriming with PEG recorded numerically maximum field emergence percentage (90.5 %) which was followed by halo priming with KCl (88.83 %) and lowest (69.66 %) in control. Effect of priming duration also found significant in field emergence i.e. for 12 hrs priming (85.875 %) and for 8 hrs priming (83.041 %). The interaction effect on emergence percentage is statistically non-significant. (Nawaz et al., 2013). Iqbal Hussian et al., (2014) showed that Priming is one of the physiological ways which enhances performance of seed and seeds show rapid and synchronized germination and also show the importance of seed vigor Numerically maximum plant height (13.025 cm) was observed in plants primed with PEG and unprimed was of lowest plant height (10.05 cm) at 30 DAS. Plant heights of hydro, glycerol, NaCl and neem primed seeds are statistically on par with each other. Plant height was more in 12 hrs primed seeds than 8 hrs primed seeds. The interaction effect of priming methods and duration on plant height at 30 DAS was found to be non significant. Osmopriming with PEG (T 2) was observed numerically maximum height (54.4 cm) followed by halopriming and unprimed was of lowest height (44.86 cm) at 45 DAS. Effect of priming duration also found significant plant height with 48.97 cm for 12 hrs priming and 47.97 cm priming for 8 hrs priming. The interaction effect of priming methods and duration on plant height at 30 DAS was found to be non significant (Nagar et al., 1998, Mehta et al., 2010, Singh et al., 2006). With effect of various priming treatments of different priming methods and durations on number of nodules per plant at 45 DAS, data was found to be significant.

Preparation of plant leaf extract The fresh leaves of the neem and eucalyptus plants were collected separately and dried under shade. The shade dried leaves were powdered using mortar and pestle. Then exactly weigh five gram of leaf powder using weighing balance and dissolved in 100 ml of distilled water which was measured already in the beaker to make 5% leaf extract. The leaf extract was filtered by using muslin cloth to remove unwanted material and leaf debris. Experiment was conducted in a Factorial randomized complete block design (Gomez and Gomez, 1984) with three replications. Observations on Field emergence, Plant height and nodulation were worked out and the data was statistically analyzed using ANOVA. Field Emergence (%) One hundred seeds from each treatment in four replications were used for field emergence studies. The seeds were sown in well prepared soil at 3 cm deep. The field emergence count was taken on the 15th day after sowing and the emergence percentage was calculated taking into account the number of seedlings emerged three centimeter above the s

Plant height: The plant height was measured from the base of the plant to the tip of the main shoot and expressed in centimeters (cm).

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 5, Issue 7, July 2015) Halopriming with KCl (T5) was observed numerically in maximum numbers (33.93) followed by osmopriming with glycerol (29.5) and hydro primed (29.5). Plants unprimed produced lowest nodules (23.46). Treatments T1, T3, T4 and T6 are statistically on par with each other for number of nodules per plant. Effect of priming duration also found significant for number of nodules per plant with 29.65 for 12 hrs priming and 28.18 for 8 hrs priming. The interaction effect of priming methods and duration on number of nodules per plant at 45 DAS was found to be non significant. Premartne and Oertli (1994) reported that dry matter yield, nodule number, fresh weight of nodule per plant, average weight of nodule and the total nitrogen accumulation increased in soya bean when the seeds were primed with potassium at 5.0 mM concentration but the nitrogenase activity remains unaltered. Data on nodule fresh weight per plant was found significant, Halo priming with KCl (T 5) was observed with maximum fresh weight (225.5 mg) and unprimed with lowest fresh weight (157 mg). Treatments T 2, (192.6 mg) and T6 (193.5 mg) are statistically on par with each other for nodule fresh weight per plant. Nodule fresh weight was higher in 12 hrs primed plants (197.35) than 8 hrs primed plants (189.67). The interaction effect of priming methods and duration on nodule fresh weight per plant at 45 DAS was also significant. Singh and Kataria (2012) studied the role of potassium on nitrogen fixation in alleviating water stress in chick pea and concluded that there was a corresponding increase in nitrogen fixation and its attributes with the increase in the potassium level. Halo priming with KCl (T5) was observed numerically with maximum nodule dry weight per plant (47.16 mg) and unprimed with lowest dry weight (27.33 mg). Treatments T1 (37.83 mg), T2 (38.5 mg), T3 (38.5 mg), T4 (38.33) and T6 (37.5 mg) are statistically on par with each other for nodule dry weight per plant at 45 DAS. The interaction effect of priming methods and duration on nodule dry weight per plant at 45 DAS was found to be significant. George et al., (2014) revealed the vital roles played by rhizobial inoculants supplemented with phosphorus and potassium has constructive effect in improving photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, nodulation, growth, yield and economic benefits in legumes. IV.

Osmopriming with PEG showed maximum increase in vigour of seedlings followed by halopriming with KCl. Seed priming with KCl for 12 hrs enhanced the root nodule numbers, fresh weight and dry weight per plant significantly followed by osmopriming with PEG. These conclusions are based on the results of six months investigation and therefore further investigation is needed to arrive at valid recommendations. Acknowledgement Authors are thankful to Dr. Shialesh Marker, Associate Professor & Head, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, SHIATS, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh (U.P), India for providing necessary facilities, encouragement and support. REFERENCES [1]

Anonymous., (2014) Ministry of agriculture, government of India. http://www.commoditiescontrol.com/eagritrader/staticpages/index.p hp?id=89 [2] Bradford, K. J., (1986). Manipulation of seed water relations via osmotic priming to improve germination under stress conditions. Horticultural Sciences, 21:1105-1112. [3] D. K. Mehta., H. S. Kanwar., A. K. Thakur and K. S. Thakur., (2010). Influence of organic seed priming on germination and seedling quality in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Journal of Hill Agriculture, 1(1):85-87 [4] George, W., Mmbaga., Kelvin, M., Mtei., Patrick, A. Ndakidemi., (2014). Extrapolations on the Use of Rhizobium Inoculants Supplemented with Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) on Growth and Nutrition of Legumes. Agricultural Sciences, 5: 1207-1226. [5] Gomez, K. A. and Gomez, A. A., (1984). Statistical procedures for agricultural research. John Wiley and sons, London, UK (II edition): 13-175. [6] Harris, D., A. Joshi., P.A. Khan., P. Gothkar and P.S. Sodhi., (1999). On farm seed priming in semi arid agriculture: development and evaluation in maize, rice and chickpea in India using participatory methods. Experimental Agriculture, 35: 15-29. [7] Heydecker, W., Higgins, J., Gulliver R. L., (1973) Accelerated germination by osmotic seed treatment. Nature, 246: 42–44. [8] Iqbal Hussian., Riaz Ahmad., Muhammad Farooq., Atiqueur Rehman., Muhammad Amin and Muhammad Abu Bakar., (2014). Seed priming: a tool to invigorate the seeds. Scientia Agriculturae, 7 (3): 122-128. [9] Javid Nawaz., Muhammad Hussain., Abdul Jabbar., Ghulam Abbas Nadeem., Muhammad Sajid., Mashood, U. Subtain and Imran Shabbir., (2013). Seed Priming A Technique. International Journal of Agriculture and Crop Sciences, 6 (20): 1373-1381. [10] K. P. Premartne and J. J. Oertli., (1994). The influence of potassium supply on nodulation, nitrogenase activity and nitrogen accumulation of soybean growth in nutrient solution. Fertilizer research, 35: 95-99. [11] Khan, M. S., Chaudhry, P., Wani, P. A., Zaidi, A., (2006). Biotoxic effects of the herbicides on growth, seed yield, and grain protein of greengram (Vigna radiata) L. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, 10 (3): 141- 146.

CONCLUSIONS

Priming increases the seed quality parameters like field emergence, plant early growth and nodulation of green gram significantly.

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 5, Issue 7, July 2015) [12] Nagar, R. P., Dadlani, M. and Sharma, S. P., (1998). Effect of hydropriming on field emergence and crop growth of maize genotypes. Seed Science Research, 26: 1-5. [13] Narender Singh and Nisha Kataria., (2012). Role of potassium fertilizer on nitrogen fixation in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under quantified water stress. Journal of Agricultural Technology, 8(1): 377-392. 2012.

[14] Sing, C. B., Kumar, M., Poonam Singh and Vyas, R. P., (2006). Studies in Relative Efficiency of Neem Based Bio-insecticides on Germination, Seedling length and Seed Vigour index in Pigeon Pea Seed. XIII National Seed Seminar, 127-128.

Table 1 Effect of seed priming on field emergence and plant height of Greengram cv. SCM-903

Field emergence

Plant height @ 30 DAS

Plant height @ 45DAS

C1

C2

MEAN

C1

C2

MEAN

C1

C2

MEAN

T1

85

86

85.5

10.18

11.65

10.91

45.86

49.46

47.66

T2

89.33

91.66

90.5

12.78

13.26

13.025

54.53

54.26

54.4

T3

83.0

86.66

84.83

11.03

10.9

10.96

47.33

49.26

48.3

T4

84.0

88.0

86.0

11.16

11.83

11.5

47.53

48.73

48.13

T5

87.0

90.66

88.83

11.41

12.48

11.95

47.93

49.06

48.5

T6

85.0

89.33

87.16

10.3

11.36

10.83

48.1

47.06

47.58

T7

81.33

85.0

83.16

10.58

11.1

10.84

47.66

49.08

48.37

T8

69.66

69.66

69.66

10.05

10.05

10.05

44.86

44.86

44.86

MEAN

83.041

85.875

84.46

10.93

11.58

11.26

47.97

48.97

48.48

T

C

TxC

T

C

TxC

T

C

TxC

SE(m)

1.43

0.71

2.02

0.36

0.18

0.52

0.53

0.26

0.75

CD at 5%

4.13*

2.06*

NS

1.06*

0.53*

NS

1.54*

0.77*

NS

Significant at 5% level of significance Whereas: C1 – Eight hours and C2 – Twelve hours of priming duration, NS – Non Significant, T – Factor I, C – Factor II T1 - Distilled water, T2 - PEG (20%), T3 - Glycerol (5%), T4 - NaCl (10 mMoles liter-1), T5 – KCl (10 mMoles liter1), T6 – Neem leaf extract (5 %), T7 - Eucalyptus leaf extract (5 %) and T 8 – Control, * - Significant.

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 5, Issue 7, July 2015) Table 4: Effect of seed priming methods and durations on nodulation parameters of Greengram cv. SCM-903 @ 45 DAS

Number of nodules/plant

Nodule fresh weight/plant (mg)

Nodule dry weight/plant (mg)

C1

C2

Mean

C1

C2

Mean

C1

C2

Mean

T1

28.4

30.6

29.5

196.0

204.0

200.0

37.0

38.66

37.83

T2

26.8

30.8

28.8

181.73

203.46

192.6

36.33

40.66

38.5

T3

28.2

30.8

29.5

184.33

209

196.66

36.66

40.33

38.5

T4

27.86

30.66

29.26

190.33

206

198.16

36.66

40.0

38.33

T5

34.13

33.73

33.93

227.0

224.0

225.5

46.0

48.33

47.16

T6

29.2

28.33

28.76

196.66

190.33

193.5

37.66

37.33

37.5

T7

27.4

28.8

28.1

184.33

185.0

184.66

31.0

34.66

32.83

T8

23.46

23.46

23.46

157.0

157.0

157.0

27.33

27.33

27.33

MEAN

28.18

29.65

28.91

189.675

197.35

193.51

36.08

38.41

37.25

T

C

TxC

T

C

TxC

T

C

TxC

SE(m)

0.52

0.26

0.74

4.95

2.47

7.00

1.148

0.57

1.62

CD at 5%

1.51*

0.75*

NS

14.29*

7.14*

20.21*

3.31

1.65

4.69*

Significant at 5% level of significance Whereas: C1 – Eight hours and C2 – Twelve hours of priming duration, NS – Non Significant, T – Factor I, C – Factor II, T1 - Distilled water, T2 - PEG (20%), T3 - Glycerol (5%), T4 - NaCl (10 mMoles liter-1), T5 – KCl (10 mMoles liter1), T6 – Neem leaf extract (5 %), T7 - Eucalyptus leaf extract (5 %) and T 8 – Control, * - Significant.

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