Effect of invigoration on seed quality of sunflower seeds

The freshly harvested seeds of sunflower genotype Phule Raviraj was used to study the effect of various seed invigoration treatments and evaluate their effect on seed quality and storability of sunflower seeds. Among the all treatments, gibberellic acid with thiram recorded maximum germination and seedling length followed by indol acetic acid with potassium nitrate and bavistin, calcium chloride gibberrellic acid, sodium dihydrogen phosphate and magnesium sulphate. Among the containers used, the polyethylene bag was found to the best for storage as seeds maintain viability above Minimum Seed Certification Standards up to 240 days as compared to Cloth Bag. The seeds treated with gibberellic acid and thiram, stored in polyethylene bag maintained germination percentage up to 270 days of storage. The present study suggested that storage of sunflower seeds for longer periods could be achieved by invigorating the seeds by gibberellic acid and thiram treatment and stored in polyethylene bags.