Impact of Hydropriming on Fresh and Naturally Aged Seeds of Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl)

Aims: An investigation was undertaken to identify the effect of hydropriming on germination, seedling growth and vigour in fresh, one year and two year old seeds of bottle gourd (Pusa Naveen variety and HBGH-35 hybrid). Study Design: The present experiment was laid in Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the laboratories of the Department of Seed Science & Technology, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during the year 2020. Methodology: Seeds of both genotypes were soaked in distilled water for 48 hours in half volume of water with respect to seed weight (w:v) at a constant temperature of 25°C. Then after, germination test was performed using ‘Between Paper’ method to assess the effect of hydropriming on germination and seedling vigour related parameters. Results: It was observed that hydropriming treatment significantly enhanced the germination and vigour of fresh and aged seeds of bottle gourd. Fresh seed lot recorded maximum germination (88.00%), shoot length (21.32 cm), root length (16.89 cm), seedling length (38.21 cm) and seedling dry weight (59.30 mg), vigour index I (3363) and vigour index II (5219) as compared to one year and two year old seed. However, effect of hydropriming was more pronounced on aged seeds as compared to fresh seeds. There was an increase in germination percentage in one year old seed to an extent of 9.69%, in two year old seed to an extent of 7.36%, whereas in fresh seeds it was only 2.30% as a result of hydropriming treatment. Conclusion: It was concluded that one year old seed lot responded better to hydropriming treatment than two year old and fresh seed lot.