Seed germination and seedling growth of papaya as influenced by GA₃ and potting media

An experiment was conducted during 2013–14 at Commercial Fruit Nursery, Department of Horticulture, Akola (M.H.) to study the influence of GA₃ and potting media on seed germination and seedling growth of papaya (Carica papaya L.) seedlings cv. Coorg honey dew. The treatments comprised combinations of soil, sand, FYM, cocopeat and vermicompost with varing levels of GA₃. Altogether, 21 treatments were applied in a Factorial completely randomized block design with three replications. Among all the treatments the application of 200 ppm GA₃ with Soil: Sand: Cocopeat: Vermicompost (1:1:1:1) potting media significantly influenced growth and health of seedlings and produced maximum seed germination (82.22%), seed vigour index (2430.50), average leaf area (44.89 cm²), length of tap root (11.6 cm) and survival percentage (78.78%), while maximum height of the seedling (19.20 cm) was seen in the treatment GA₃ 200 ppm with soil: FYM (1:1) media. Collar daimeter (5.78 mm) and number of leaves per seedling (9.22) were recorded maximum in GA₃ 200 ppm with soil: sand: vermicompost (1:1:1) media. Fresh weight of plant (7.72g) and dry weight of plant (1.01g) were recorded maximum in treatment GA₃ 100 ppm and soil: sand: vermicompost (1:1:1) media.