PJB-2018-1581
Effect of different pretreatments on breaking seed dormancy and In vitro germination in Jatropha curcas L.
Sadia Rizwan and Faheem Aftab
Abstract
Development of rapid and efficient propagation methods for Jatropha curcas are highly desirable since its seed oil can be used as biofuel and hence of high economic value. Dormancy, decreased viability with age, and low germination rate are amongst the common problems associated with its conventional propagation through seeds. In vitro germination of seeds, specifically during the dormant periods by using some pretreatments were therefore focused to help resolve some of these limiting issues. Pretreatments included presoaking of seeds in water overnight, scarification, stratification and removal of seed coats. It was observed that the orientation of the seeds on the culture media also had an effect on its germination rate. Disinfection of naked seeds could not support germination so the seeds were disinfected before removing the seed coats. It was observed that the removal of seed coats only could break the dormancy of seeds to get 100% In vitro germination on full strength MS medium kept in the dark at 25 ± 2˚C in the months of December to January. Such seedlings were shifted in light conditions (16h photoperiod) after the root emergence at the same temperature to support chlorophyll development. Seedlings were successfully acclimatized by shifting to a mixture of peat, clay and silt (1:1:1 v/v) in greenhouse. It is expected that the reported method of propagation would help to develop suitable tissues for germplasm preservation, large scale rapid plant propagation and may find its application in crop improvement and hence profitability in a broader sense
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