NSave Nature to Survive

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1 ISSN: NSave Nature to Survive : Special issue, Vol. VI: : 2014 AN INTERNATIONAL QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES ORGANIC PRIMING IN PIGEONPEA - AN ECOFRIENDLY APPROACH FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE K. K. Hareesh et al., KEYWORDS Pigeonpea Seed priming Custard apple leaf extract Germination Proceedings of National Conference on Harmony with Nature in Context of Environmental Issues and Challenges of the 21 st Century (HORMONY ) November 28-30, 2014, Udaipur, organized by Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Earth Sciences M. L. Shukhadia University, Udaipur (Rajasthan) in association with National Environmentalists Association, India 237

2 NSave Nature to Survive QUARTERLY K. K. HAREESH, N. M. SHAKUNTALA*, S. N. VASUDEVAN AND SANGEETA. I. MACHA Department of Seed Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Raichur University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur , INDIA shankuntalanm@rediffmail.com ABSTRACT Studies were conducted to know the effect of seed priming treatments, genotypes and containers on seed quality of pigeonpea during storage. Results from the study indicated that, the BSMR-736 seeds primed with custard apple leaf 3 per cent and stored in polythene bag (700 gauge) recorded significantly highest seed quality parameters viz., germination (77.42, and 76.57%), vigour index (2132, 2100 and 1989) with lowest seed infection (5.58, 5.67 and 5.85%) and seed infestation (6.50, 5.78 and 6.85%), at the end of tenth month of storage period. With the advancement in the storage period, an decrease in germination, vigour index, increase in seed infection and seed infestation were observed. Seeds treated with custard apple maintained the viability upto tenth months of storage. INTRODUCTION Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajana L. Millsp.) is grown throughout the semi-arid tropics but is of greatest importance in India, where over 80 per cent of the world recorded production of this crop for consumption (Anon., 1986). Pigeonpea is consumed as food after processing that includes such traditional practices as soaking, sprouting, fermentation, boiling, roasting, parching, frying and steaming. In India, pigeonpea is grown on an area of 4.42 million ha with an annual production of 2.89 million tonnes with a productivity of 6655 kg ha -1 (Anon., 2012). In biological system, ageing, senescence and deterioration leading to death are common phenomenon and seeds are no exception to this. The seed deterioration is inevitable, irreversible and inexorable, but its rate can be closely controlled to some extent either by preserving seeds in controlled environment or by treating with certain seed priming treatments. As seed preservation in controlled environmental condition is costlier and not feasible in developing countries like India, alternative methods such as treatment of the seed with certain priming techniques which are known to enhance the viability and vigour of seeds are employed. Seed priming is the pre-sowing treatment that involves controlled hydration of seeds, sufficient to allow radical protrusion through the seed coat. The purpose of priming is to increase germination percentage, seedlings from primed seed grow faster, grow more vigorously, and perform better in adverse conditions (Desai et al., 1997). Hence the study was carried out to know the beneficial effect of organics along with CaCl 2 on seed quality parameters during storage. Organic agriculture is based on principles of self-sufficiency, biodiversity, crop rotation, recycling and independency of chemically based agricultural systems. Organic fields should be fertilized with manure from organic animals, organic animals should be fed with organically produced fodder and organic crops should be produced from organically produced seeds. Most conventional seeds are treated with fungicides, which is not an option in organic agriculture. The organic label is therefore a process claim rather than a product claim which is obtained by certification body or authority with logo at various stages in accordance with certain specified norms or standards during production, handling, processing and marketing. To meet the requirements of the organic farmers and consumers, we have to scale up and further build up the expertise on organic seed production protocols and establish a good knowledge sharing mechanism. To make organic farming more acceptable and for adaption by large number of farmers, supply of good organic seed developed by organic breeding assumes greater importance in the coming years (Shankrayya, 2012). MATERIALS AND METHODS *Corresponding author The laboratory experiments were conducted in the Department of Seed Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur during to find out the effect of seed priming with different treatments in 238

3 ORGANIC PRIMING IN PIGEONPEA pigeonpea. The seeds were obtained from Seed Unit, UAS Raichur. The experiment consisted of three genotypes viz., BSMR-736 (G 1 ); TS-3R ( ) and Asha ( ), eight different priming treatments viz., control ( ) ; Hydro priming (T 2 ) ; Custard apple leaf 3% (T 3 ) ; 3% (T 4 ) ; CaCl 2% (T 5 ) ; Trichoderma 4 g/l (T 6 ) ; Pseudomonas 4 g/l (T 7 ) ; Sweet flag rhizome 2 g/l (T 8 ) and stored in two different containers namely cloth bag ( ) and polyethylene bag (700 gauge) ( ). The different priming solutions were used for soaking the seeds as per the required weight by volume ratio of seed to solution (1:0.3) and soaked for three hours. Then, the seeds were air dried overnight and stored in cloth bag and polyethylene bag (700 gauge) for 10 months. The seed samples were drawn bimonthly and seed quality parameters were recorded. Germination per cent was determined as per ISTA rules for seed testing. The seeds were placed in rolled paper towels. Hundred seeds of four replications were tested at a constant temperature of 25 o C. The number of normal seedlings were evaluated on 6 th day and per cent germination was expressed on normal seedling basis (ISTA, 2013). The seedling vigor index was determined by multiplying the percentage germination and total seedling length (Abdul-Baki and Anderson, 1973). Storage fungi present on seeds were detected using blotter method as prescribed in ISTA guidelines. Ten seeds were placed equidistantly on three layered moistened blotter taken in sterilized petriplate. Each treatment was replicated four times. They were incubated at 20 C for seven days with alternate cycle of 12 hr near ultra violet (NUV) range and for remaining 12 hr in dark. On eighth day, the plates were examined under stereo binocular microscope for the presence of seed borne fungi. The number of infected seeds were counted and expressed in percentage (ISTA, 2013). Hundred seeds in three replications were drawn at random from each treatment at bimonthly intervals for accessing insect infestation. The extent of seed damage due to pulse beetle (Callosobrochus chinensis and callosobrochus maculatus) was observed closely with help of magnifying lens (100x). The seed either with single or multiple holes were considered as infested seeds. The infested seeds were counted manually and the average was expressed as percentage of infestation. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Seed deterioration is an irreversible process and the physiology of seed deterioration is not well understood (McDonald, 1999). Though deterioration of seeds cannot be reversed, the rate of deterioration could be managed to certain extent by subjecting them to invigouration treatments (Basu, 1994). Effect of genotype With the advancement of storage period, the seed quality parameters of different genotypes declined irrespective of priming treatments imposed and storage containers. However, among the genotypes BSMR-736 stored in polythene bag recorded significantly highest germination percentage, seedling vigour index (93.21% and 3347) at the initial month of storage and also statistically similar observations were recorded in cloth bag, with lowest seed infection and seed infestation (0.42 and 0.80%) respectively at the fourth month of storage and in case of cloth bag (0.79 and 1.67) were recorded. and least was observed in Asha (92.58% and 3124) at the initial month of storage and also statistically similar observations were recorded in cloth bag, with highest seed infection and seed infestation (1.54 and 0.67%) respectively at the fourth month of storage and in case of cloth bag (0.79 and 1.54%) were recorded. Whereas at the end of the storage period BSMR-736 seeds stored in polythene bag recorded highest germination percentage, seedling vigour index with lowest seed infection and seed infestation (77.42%, 2132, 6.50% and 5.58% respectively) and Asha genotype recorded lowest seed quality parameters (75.54%, 1867, 7.04 and 6.17% respectively) (Table 1, Table 2, Fig. 1, Fig. 2). This variation was due to the inherent genotypic differences and the amount of stored food reserve mobilized which ultimately contributed to higher germination, longer seedling length, higher seedling dry weight as well as vigour. The increase in seed infestation and seed infection difference may be due to variation in inherent genotypic composition to withstand the impact of insect infestation. Similar decrease in vigour index with advancement of storage was reported by Kumar et al. (1997) in varieties of pea and Singh et al. (1998) in rice bean seeds. Effect of treatments With the advancement of storage period, the seed quality parameters for the genotypes of pigeonpea declined irrespective of genotypes and storage containers. However, among all the treatments, custard apple leaf 3 per cent recorded highest germination percentage, seedling vigour index (94.00% and 2922) respectively, followed by 3 per cent ( 93.44% and 2861) and least was observed in control ( 91.67% and 2583) at the initial month of the storage. And custard apple leaf 3 per cent recorded lowest seed infection and seed infestation (0.89 and 1.00%) respectively, followed by 3 per cent (0.67 and 1.33%) and highest was observed in control (1.50 and 3.44%) at the fourth month of storage. Significantly highest germination percentage and seedling vigour index (77.22% and 2100). Were recorded in seeds primed with custard apple leaf 3 per cent. followed by 3 per cent (76.39% and 2047) and least was in control (72.94% and 1772) respectively, at the end of tenth month of storage (Table 1, Table 2). Increase in seed quality parameters may be due to enlarged embryos, higher rate of metabolic activity and respiration, better utilization and mobilization of metabolites to growing points and higher activity of enzymes as reported by Salim and Todd (1968) in wheat and barley. The superiority of custard apple leaf 3 per cent known to contain active compound annonin and presence of some growth promoting substance, antioxidant activity and mineral content (Ti, Mo, Fe, Al, Sr, B and trace of Ba) might have resulted in improving seed quality parameters. Similar results were reported by Prakash and Rao (2006) in pigeon pea and Sathish and Bhaskaran (2013) in blackgram. Similarly, panchagavya treated seeds were also maintained seed quality during storage because, it contains 239

4 K. K. HAREESH et al., Table 1: Effect of seed priming on germination (%) of pigeonpea during storage Treatments Initial month 2 nd month Mean Mean G 1 Mean (T) G 1 Mean (T) T T T T T T T Mean (G) G T C G T C G T C G T C SEm ± CD (p=0.01) NS NS NS NS= Non Significant G - Genotypes, C - Containers, T - Treatments, G 1 - BSMR- 736, - TS- 3 R, - Cloth bag, - Polythene bag (700 guage), Hydropriming, T 3 - Custard apple leaf 3%, T 4 - 3%, T 5 - Trichoderma 4 g/l, T 7 - Pseudomonas 4 g/l, T 8 - Sweet flag rhizome 2 g/l, - Asha Table 1: Cont... Treatments 6 th month 10 th month Mean Mean G 1 Mean (T) G 1 Mean (T) T T T T T T T Mean (G) G T C G T C G T C G T C SEm ± CD (p=0.01) NS NS NS= Non Significant G - Genotypes, C - Containers, T - Treatments, G 1 - BSMR- 736, - TS- 3 R, - Cloth bag, - Polythene bag (700 guage), Hydropriming, T 3 - Custard apple leaf 3%, T 4 - 3%, T 5 - Trichoderma 4 g/l, T 7 - Pseudomonas 4 g/l, T 8 - Sweet flag rhizome 2 g/l, - Asha 240

5 ORGANIC PRIMING IN PIGEONPEA Table 2: Effect of seed priming on seedling vigour index of pigeonpea during storage Treatments Initial month 2 nd month Mean Mean G 1 Mean (T) G 1 Mean (T) T T T T T T T Mean (G) G T C G T C G T C G T C SEm ± CD (p = 0.01) NS NS NS NS= Non Significant G - Genotypes, C - Containers, T - Treatments, G 1 - BSMR- 736, - TS- 3 R, - Cloth bag, - Polythene bag (700 guage) Hydropriming, T 3 - Custard apple leaf 3%, T 4 - 3%, T 5 - Trichoderma 4 g/l, T 7 - Pseudomonas 4 g/l, T 8 - Sweet flag rhizome 2 g/l, - Asha Table 2: Cont... Treatments 6 th month 10 th month Mean Mean G 1 Mean (T) G 1 Mean (T) T T T T T T T Mean (G) G T C G T C G T C G T C SEm ± CD (P= 0.01) NS NS NS= Non Significant G - Genotypes, C - Containers, T - Treatments, G 1 - BSMR- 736, - TS- 3 R, - Cloth bag, - Polythene bag (700 guage), Hydropriming, T 3 - Custard apple leaf 3%, T 4 - 3%, T 5 - Trichoderma 4 g/l, T 7 - Pseudomonas 4 g/l, T 8 - Sweet flag rhizome 2 g/l, - Asha 241

6 K. K. HAREESH et al., Seed infection (%) T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 G1 G2 G3 Treatments Genotypes Fourth C1 Fourth C2 Fourth treatment mean Final C1 Final C2 Final treatment mean - Hydro priming, T 3 - Custard apple leaf 3%, T 4 - 3%, T 5 - Trichoderma 4g/l, T 7 - Pseudomonas 4g/l, T 8 - Sweet flag rhizome 2g/l, G 1 - BSMR-736, - TS-3R, - Asha, - Cloth bag, - Polyethylene bag (700 gauge) Figure 1: Influence of seed priming on seed infection (%) of pigeonpea during storage bacteria which produce plant growth promoting substances as well as bacteria having biological deterrent activities. Presence of such beneficial microbial biomass might have resulted in improving seed quality parameters. These results are in accordance with findings of Nagaraj and Sreenivasa (2009) in wheat and Shakuntala et al., (2012) in paddy. The seeds primed with custard apple leaf 3 per cent showed seed lowest infection and seed infestation ( 5.67 and 5.78%) at the end of tenth month of storage followed by 3 per cent ( 5.89 and 6.11%) and highest was in control ( 8.06 and 18.06%) (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). Because custard apple leaf extract has got insecticidal, antifeedant and repellent property. These results are in accordance with earlier studies of Prakash and Rao (2006) in pigeon pea. The superiority of custard apple leaf extract and panchagavya help in preventing fungal invasion, thereby suppressing growth of pathogen. The results are in accordance with earlier studies of Nair and Peter (1990), Solaiappan (2002) and Padmodaya (1994) who reported that bacteria present in panchagavya acted as biocontrol agent. Effect of containers The most important factor that determines the longevity of seeds in storage is moisture content of seed, temperature and relative humidity of the storage atmosphere. As seed being hygroscopic in nature, exhibit fluctuation in seed moisture content due to changes with atmospheric relative humidity and temperature, so it is essential to preserve them in suitable moisture proof containers which eliminate dampness, deterioration, microorganisms, and enhances the seed longevity. Among the two containers polyethylene bag (700 gauge) recorded highest germination percentage and seedling vigour index (76.57% and 1989) at the initial month of storage and also statistically similar observations were recorded in cloth bag, with lowest seed infection and seed infestation (0.57 and 1.15%) respectively in polythene bag at the fourth month of storage and in case of cloth bag highest seed infection and seed infestation (1.14 and 2.08%) were recorded. Significantly higher germination percentage, seedling vigour index with lowest seed infection and seed infestation (76.57%, 1989, Seed infection (%) Fourth C1 Fourth C2 15 Fourth treatment mean 10 Final C1 Final C2 5 Final treatment mean 0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 G1 G2 G3 Treatments Genotypes - Hydro priming, T 3 - Custard apple leaf 3%, T 4 - 3%, T 5 - Trichoderma 4g/l, T 7 - Pseudomonas 4g/l, T 8 - Sweet flag rhizome 2g/l, G 1 - BSMR-736, - TS-3R, - Asha, - Cloth bag, - Polyethylene bag (700 gauge) Figure 2: Influence of seed priming on seed infestation (%) of pigeonpea during storage 7.83 and 6.85%) were observed in seeds stored in polythene bag. While seeds stored in cloth bag recorded lower germination percentage, seedling vigour index, with highest seed infection and seed infestation (72.93%, 1867, 7.83 and 10.56%) at the end of tenth month of storage (Table 1, Table 2, Fig. 1, Fig. 2). Extent of decrease in seed quality was more in cloth bag stored seeds compared to polythene bag with advancement of storage period. Since cloth bag contain minute pores through which there is possibility of gain of moisture content due to fluctuation in the relative humidity and temperature of atmosphere. Whereas, there is no such increment in moisture content of seeds stored in polythene bag as it is moisture proof container result into large fluctuation in moisture content leading to faster rate of deterioration of seeds stored in cloth bag due to its impervious nature. Similar results were obtained by Dwivedi and Shukla (1990) Charjan and Gupta (1996) in chickpea seeds. The lower infection and infestation in polythene bag may be due to unfavourable condition prevailing for the multiplication of beetles. The lesser per cent infestation of seeds when seeds stored in vapour proof containers for eight months of storage period was reported by Kenghe and Kanawade (1992) in gram and Singh (1995) in vigna radiata. REFERENCES Abdul-Baki, A. A. and Anderson, J. D Vigour determination by multiple criteria. Crop Sci. 13: Anonymous International crops research institute for the semi arid tropics annual report Patancheru, A.P., (India) ICRISAT. pp Anonymous All India area, production and yield of total pulses Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India. Basu, R. N Seed invigouration for extended storability. Seed Res. 2: Charjan, S. K. V. and Gupta, V. R Impact of storage condition on fungal flora and germinabilityof gram seeds. J. Soils and Crops. 6: Desai, B. B., Kotecha, P. M. and Salunkhe, D. K Seeds Handbook. Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York. Dwivedi, S. N. and Shukla, T. N Effect of methods of storage 242

7 ORGANIC PRIMING IN PIGEONPEA on germinability and mycoflora of gram (Cicer arietinum). Seed Res. 18: ISTA International rules for seed testing, Seed Sci. and Technol. 27: Kenghe, R. N. and Kanawade, L. R Storage studies of chickpea seed. Thailand Asian Insti. Techn. pp Kumar, J. and Singh, U Seed coat thickness in chickpea, variation and inheritance in a desi and kabuli cross. Indian journal of Genetics and Plant breeding. 49: Kumar, S., Singal, N. C. and Prakash, S Inter varietal variability for seed longevity in pea (pisum sativum). Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant breeding. 57: McDonald, M. B Seed deterioration : physiology, repair and assessment. Seed Sci. and Technol. 27: Nagaraj and Sreenivasa M. N Influence of bacteria isolated from panchagavya on seed germination and seed vigour in wheat. Karnataka J. Agric. Sci. 22(1): Nair, M. and Peter, K. V Organic, inorganic fertilizers and their combinations on yield and storage life of hot chilli. Veg. Sci. 17: Padmodaya, B Biological control of seedling disease and wilt in tomato (F. Oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici). Ph. D. thesis, Uni. Agric. Sci., Bangalore (India). Patil, A. K Influence of containers and seed treatment on storability of chickpea. M. Sc.(Agri.) thesis, Univ.Agric. Sci., Dharwad, Karnataka (India). Prakash, M. S. and Rao, T. A Effect of plant extract against Sitophilus oryzae in stored Products against pulse beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis Linn. Bull. Grain Tech. 19: Salim, M. A. and Todd, G. W Seed soaking as presowing drought hardening treatment in wheat and barley seedlings. Agronomics Journal. 60: Sathish, S. and Bhaskaran, M Seed dressing with botanicals to improve physiological performance of fresh and aged seeds of blackgram (Vigna mungo L.). African J. Agri. Res. 8(29): Singh, G Use of polythene bags to check infestation by pulse beetles Callosobruches maculates in stored mung (Vigna radiata). J. Insect Sci. 8: Singh, S. N., Singh, B. B. and Chowdry, N. K Storability of rice bean seeds. Seed Tech News. 29: Shakuntala, N. M, Vasudevan, S. N, Patil, S. B, Doddagoudar, S. R, Mathad, R. C, Macha, S. I. and Vijaykumar, A. G Organic biopriming on seed vigour inducing enzyme in paddy - An alternative to inorganics. The Ecoscan. 1(Special Issue): Shankrayya Studies on the effect of organic seed treatment on seed quality of cereals during storage. M. Sc.(Agri.) thesis submitted to the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur. Solaiappan, A. R Microbiological Studies in Panchagavya, Bio-control laboratory- official communication, Chengalput, Tamilnadu. pp Vyas, R. P., Kumar, R., Prakash, V. and Katiyar, R.P Germinability of soyabean seeds after harvest in subsequent storage. Seed Res. 18:

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