1PLANTICA - Indian Academy of Rural Development (IARD), Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
2Department of Seed Science and Technology, H.N.B.G.U., Srinagar, Uttarakhand, India
3Uttaranchal P.G. College of Biomedical Science and Hospital, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
*Corresponding author: badonianna@gmail.com (ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1208-4227)
Online Published on 26 July, 2023.
Luffa sponge gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca Mill.; also L. cylindrica) is a major cucurbit crop, affected by the physical dormancy, which is caused by the hardness of the seed coat. In the present study, luffa seeds were treated with H2SO4 and hot water. This experiment is conduct as seeds of sponge gourd were socked in hot water (100°C) for 2, 5, 10 and 15 minutes durations and in various concentration of H2SO4 (0.5, 1 and 2%) for 1, 3 and 5 minutes durations in each concentration along with control. The highest germination percentage (92.33 ±0.8) was recorded with hot water treatment for 2 min. H2SO4 Treatment had no effect in breaking physical dormancy, but it showed variability in the germination of sponge gourd. But it can not be considered as an effective method.
• The hot water treatment for 2 min can be suggested as an effective method for breaking physical dormancy in sponge gourd.
Physical dormancy, Hot water, H2SO4, Luffa sponge gourd
