PJB-2024-466
THE EFFECT OF VAROIUS PRIMING AGENTS ON GERMINATION DYNAMICS OF FOUR MEDICINALLY IMPORTANT HEMP (CANNABIS SATIVA L.) CULTIVARS
SABA LATIF
Abstract
Seed germination is crucial for studying factors influencing production conditions since it represents the primary physiological phase of the plant's life cycle. Medicinal hemp is getting popular owing to its natural products for potential therapeutic properties, and its cultivation has now been started in developing countries. The crop is predominantly cultivated primarily from feminized seeds or popular varieties to obtain higher quantities of cannabidiol (CBD) that cost high price. The knowledge of hemp seed germination using different seed priming techniques and documenting the variations in seedling growth parameters and influences of in vitro germination is limited. Therefore, this study hypothesizes that the different seed priming methods might significantly influence hemp seed germination and subsequently impacts on the seedling growth of considered cultivars. The present study tested four cultivars/ chemovar (viz. Fedora-17, Finola, CBD Pink Kush, and a local variety Gulistan) in five different seed priming treatments (e.g. Indole butyric acid (IBA), Moringa leaf extract, KNO3, and hydro-priming, compared to control (no-priming) using a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The experiment data (in triplicate) was analyzed using a time-to-event analysis through analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results indicated that the hemp seed priming using 1000 ppm of IBA significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the seed germination rate, while CBD Pink Kush showed a maximum germination response (83%) among all the considered cultivars. This first-ever study focusing on seed germination and seedling growth considering different priming agents might be helpful in future studies targeting industrial and medicinal hemp crop cultivation.
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