Vegetable Seed Germination Enhancement Using Different Levels of Pyroligneous Acid (PA)

Abstract

Different concentration of pyroligneous acid in priming solutions were tested on the germination of four (4) different vegetable seeds such as radish, tomato, cucumber and eggplant. Priming solutions were consist of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% pyroligneous acid  used to prime the seeds of eggplant and tomato for twenty four (24) hours while sixteen (16)  hours for cucumber and radish seeds. Germination test were done in dark room condition using petri dishes containing 50 seeds each with three replications. Fastest rate of germination were observed on radish and cucumber seeds with only two days reaching 100 % germination. Final germination percentage of tomato and eggplant seeds treated with pyroligneous acid increased with 7% and 4 % difference compared to untreated seeds. Priming enhances the germination of tested vegetable seeds ranging from 93 to 100% germination in all treatments of all seeds except for 20% PA (T5) in eggplant seeds with 76% FGP. Studies dealing with the different number of days of seed priming, application of PA during seedling emergence, vegetative, and reproductive stage of plants is suggested to fully explore its potential as organic fertilizer and growth enhancer.

Keywords: pyroligneous acid, priming, vegetable seeds, speed of germination, initial germination percentage, final germination percentage.