Botany Department, University School of Sciences, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad-380009, India
*Deceased May 12, 1978
Seeds of Brassica juncea var. Varuna were pretreated with high temperature and subsequently with free radicals of ascorbic acid, (combination of ascorbic acid and hydrogen peroxide solution). Pretreated seeds along with control (untreated) were germinated in sterilized petridishes lined with filter paper in glass distilled water at room temperattrre (25±2°C) in continuous light (115 Lux at the plant level) upto 48 hours of germination.
Pretreated seedlings showed advanced growth stage when compared to control during the course of germination. Concomitant with this, fresh weight, percent moisture content, percent ascorbic acid utilized, and AA-FR peroxidase were recorded significantly at a higher level in case of pretreated seedlings as compared to control.
The role of beneficial effects of pretreatment is attributed to the enzymatic utilization of ascorbic acid as well as to the free radical mechanism of ascorbic acid during the germination process.
