Bio-Stimulants Humid Priming: A Technology for Improving Seed Vigour of Annual Moringa cv. PKM 1

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam. is a multiple purpose tree used as human and animal food, cosmetic production and water purification. Seed priming combined with organic bostimulants has been used to improve plant performance. This study aimed to verify the efficiency of humid seed priming using bio stimulants such as jeevamirtham, panchagavya, moringa leaf extract, seaweed extract, egg amino acid and liquid-based bio formulations of Bacillus subtilis on seed germination and seedling growth of Moringa oleifera. The humid priming technique involves soaking seeds in a loosely tied cloth bag for a predetermined duration, then placing the bags in a closed container on an elevated platform to provide dark, humid conditions that facilitate the invigoration process. Seeds are soaked for 12 hours, exposed to dark, humid conditions for another 12 hours, and then shade dried to the original moisture content for proper handling. The experiment on seed invigoration with humid priming was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Vaigai Dam, during 2023 with annual moringa variety PKM1. The annual moringa seeds were subjected to humid priming with various bio-stimulants in different concentrations to determine the seed quality parameters viz., speed of germination, germination percentage, seedling length, dry weight and seedling vigour. All the humid priming treatments with bio stimulants increased the emergence rate and enhanced the seedling vigor. However, humid priming with 1% liquid formulations of Bacillus subtilis had a significantly positive influence on  speed of germination (6.64), days for 50% emergence (4.5 days), maximum germination percentage (94%), root length (15.7 cm), shoot length (29.2 cm), dry matter production (3.6 g/10 seedlings), and vigour index value (4220) over the control which recorded only 5.14,8.0,74 %,9.3cm, 18.9cm,2.05g, 2086 respectively. The germination percentage increased by 27% in humid priming with 1% Bacillus subtilis compared to control.