Seed propagation of endangered medicinal plant Atropa acuminata Royle ex lindley: optimizing seed source variation and plant growth regulators for its germination parameters

Atropa acuminata is an important medicinal plant having multiple medicinal values. Low viability and dormancy limit its germination. Therefore the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of seed source and growth regulators on its germination. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design. In this experiment the seeds were collected from three different districts of the Kashmir valley and were evaluated for different seed germination parameters under different concentrations of growth regulators. The results revealed that maximum germination percentage (81.76%), germination capacity (85.30%) and lowest mean germination time (11.94 days) was observed in seeds obtained from Sonamarg after treatment with GA₃ @ 200ppm.