INFLUENCE OF PRE-SOWING SEED TREATMENT AND SEED PELLETING ON STORABILITY IN BRINJAL (Solanum melongena L.

Thesis submitted to the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE (AGRICULTURE) IN SEED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

By SATISH KUMAR

DEPARTMENT OF SEED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, DHARWAD UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, DHARWAD 580 005

NOVEMBER, 2005

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

DHARWAD NOVMEBER, 2005

(BASAVE GOWDA) MAJOR ADVISOR

Approved by: Chairman: _____________________________ (BASAVE GOWDA

Members: _____________________________ 1. (B.S. VYAKARANAHAL)

_____________________________ 2. (B.B. CHANNAPPAGOUDAR)

_____________________________ 3. (SATISH S. PATIL)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO.

TITLE

PAGE NO.

I.

INTRODUCTION

II.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

III.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

IV.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

V.

DISCUSSION

VI.

SUMMARY

VII.

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

LIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO. 1 2 TITLE Soil physical and chemical properties of the experimental site Mean monthly meteorological data for experimental year (kharif 2004) and the mean of past 54 years (1950-2004) of Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad Effect of pre-sowing seed treatments on initial seed quality parameters of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet Effect of pre-sowing seed treatments on plant height and number of leaves at different growth stages in brinjal hybrid Effect of pre-sowing seed treatments on number of branches per plant and days to 50 per cent flowering at different growth stages in brinjal hybrid Effect of pre-sowing seed treatments on fruit length and fruit girth of brinjal hybrid Effect of pre-sowing seed treatments on fruit yield of brinjal hybrid Economics of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet as influenced by pre-sowing treatments Effect of seed pelleting on initial seed quality parameters of brinjal hybrid seeds Cv. Arka Navneet Effect of seed pelleting and containers on germination (%) during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on germination (%) during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet Effect of seed pelleting and containers on speed of germination during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on speed of germination during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet Effect of seed pelleting and containers on root length (cm) during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet PAGE NO.

7 7.1

9.1

10

10.1

11

TABLE NO. 11.1

TITLE Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on root length (cm) during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet Effect of seed pelleting and containers on shoot length (cm) during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on shoot length (cm) during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet Effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet Effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling dry weight (mg) during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling dry weight (mg) during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet Effect of seed pelleting and containers on field emergence per cent during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on field emergence (%) during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet

PAGE NO.

12

12.1

13

13.1

14

14.1

15

15.1

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO.
1. Plan of layout

TITLE

BETWEEN PAGES

2.

Effect of pre-sowing treatments on initial germination (%) and seedling vigour index of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet Effect of pre-sowing treatments on fruit length of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

3.

4.

Effect of pre-sowing treatments on fruit yield per plant and per ha of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet

5.

Effect of seed pelleting on initial germination (%) and seedling vigour index of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet Effect of seed pelleting on germination (%) during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

6.

7.

Effect of containers on germination percentage during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

8.

Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on germination (%) during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet Effect of seed pelleting on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

9.

10.

Effect of containers on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

11.

Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

LIST OF PLATES

PLATE NO. 1.

TITLE

BETWEEN PAGES

General view of the experiment on brinjal hybrid (Cv. Arka Navneet) Seed pelleting with different chemicals

2.

3.

Pre-sowing seed treatment on early vigour of hybrid brinjal (Cv. Arka Navneet) Pre-sowing seed treatment on fruit size of brinjal (Cv. Arka Navneet) Seed pelleting with chemicals on seedling length of hybrid brinjal (Cv. Arka Navneet)

4.

5.

LIST OF APPENDIX

APPENDIX NO. 1.

TITLE

BETWEEN PAGES

Prices of inputs and outputs

I. INTRODUCTION
Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) commonly known as egg plant, belongs to the family Solanaceae and referred by different names, viz., egg plant, aubergine, garden egg (french), baigan (Hindi), badanekai (Kannada), vangi (Marathi) and vankaya (Telugu). Brinjal is an important vegetable crop grown in India throughout the year. India is regarded as the center of origin of brinjal (Vavilov, 1931). Contrary to the common belief, it is quite high in nutritive value and can be well compared with tomato. Brinjal fruit contains high amount of carbohydrates (6.4%), protein (1.3%), fat (0.3%), calcium (0.02%), phosphorus (0.02%), iron (0.0013%) and other mineral matters. Apart from this, it also contains -carotene (34 mg), riboflavin (0.05 mg), thiamine (0.05 mg), niacine (0.5 mg) and ascorbic acid (0.9 mg) per 100 g fruit (Choudhary, 1976). The brinjal plant contains an alkaloid called solanine found in roots and leaves. Some medicinal use of egg plant tissues and extract include treatment of diabetes, asthma, cholera, bronchitis and diarrhea, its fruits and leaves are reported to lower blood cholesterol levels. The world acreage under brinjal was estimated to be 1.5 million ha with a production of 25.07 million tonnes and average productivity of 16.67 tonnes per ha in 2001-02. In India, egg plant occupies an area of 0.46 million ha with estimated annual production of 6.4 million tonnes and the productivity stands at 13.91 tonnes per ha (Anon., 2004a). In Karnataka it is grown over an area of 0.17 lakh ha with annual production of 3.83 lakh tonnes and productivity is 22.0 t per ha (Anon., 2004b). The important brinjal growing countries in the world are India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, Cyprus, Egypt, Japan, Philippines, Syria and Western Europe (Anon., 2001). In India, major brinjal producing states are Orissa, Bihar, Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh (Anon., 2004a). Major brinjal producing districts of Karnataka are Belgaum, Dharwad, Gadag, Bijapur and Mysore (Anon., 1999b). There is tremendous scope for improving yield of brinjal in our country. The productivity of brinjal could be improved by improving the per cent field emergence. The time from planting to seedling establishment is a crucial phase in the production cycle. The period of imbibition is extremely sensitive to changes in the environment, and slight or sudden changes appear to profound effect on seedling emergence (Khan et al., 1978). High quality seed is the key to successful agriculture. Modern agriculture with its bias for technology and precision demands that each and every seed should readily germinate and produce a vigorous seedling ensuring high yield. As such only seed of high quality genetically pure and morphologically, pathologically and physiologically sound is needed to increase the productivity. In dryland agriculture, drought resistance of plant is one of the very important factors to get the higher yield. Though, this is largely depends on genetic make up of the variety, presowing treatments like hardening also practiced to defy the ill effects of drought on emergence and growth of crop. Pre-sowing treatments have done in order to impart resistance against stress conditions viz., drought and cold, to the emerging seedlings (Balamurugan et al., 2003). A major constraint to the commercial application of pre-sowing treatments is the variability among the cultivars and even among the seed lots of the same cultivar, concentration and duration of the pre-sowing treatment. On the other hand, the productivity of brinjal could also be improved by use of good quality seed, but availability of high quality seed often becomes a limiting factor, one of the important reasons being physiological deterioration leading to vigour and viability losses in storage. Since the loss of viability impairs the biological and planting value of seed, it is of special concern to breeders, businessmen and farmers. Several factors viz., inherent genetic potential, initial seed quality, environment during seed production, seed moisture content, mechanical damage, seed borne mycoflora, storage insects, seed dressing chemicals and seed treatments influence the seed longevity and affect subsequent field performance.

Hence, storage of seeds after harvest till next planting time assumes prime importance for successful seed production programme. In agriculture, to achieve a desired plant population and a high probability of successful establishment of each seed planted, precision planting is advocated. The most essential phase of precision planting is the singling of seeds for exact placement at a predetermined depth and spacing in the soil with a uniform coverage and at reasonable planting speed. Singling is difficult for small seeds which are low in density and irregular in shape. To overcome these difficulties, seed pelleting is advocated (Barathi et al., 2003). Seed pelleting is the process of enclosing a small and irregular seeds with a small quantity of inert material just large enough to produce a globular unit of standard size to facilitate precision planting. It is also a mechanism of applying needed materials in such a way that they affect the seed or soil at the seed-soil interface. Thus, seed pelleting provides an opportunity to package, effective quantities of materials such that they can influence the micro-environment of each seed (Krishnasamy, 2003). There is very little literature on the repeatability and applicability of pre-sowing treatments and on the aspects of seed pelleting in brinjal. Hence, the present investigation entitled. Influence of pre-sowing seed treatment and seed pelleting on storability in brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) was taken up with the following objectives. i. ii. To study the effect of different pre-sowing treatments on seed quality and field performance of brinjal To know the effect of seed pelleting and storage containers on seed quality of brinjal during storage.

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The reviews on pre-sowing seed treatment/seed pelleting, storage containers on seed quality and storability on seed quality and field performance in brinjal are limited and hence the literature on other related crops have also been reviewed and presented in this chapter.

2.1

EFFECT OF PRE-SOWING TREATMENTS

Loss in viability of seeds during storage is invariably associated with loss in membrane permeability. This results in leakage of cell contents. Changes in cell constituents are also concurrent with loss in viability. A simple treatment like soaking of seeds in water and other chemicals and drying have been found to extend viability (Heydecker, 1975). The term seed invigoration broadly denotes any treatment (physical, chemical and physiological) which is applied to seed to improve germination, seedling vigour or field stand. The terms seed invigoration, seed priming and seed fortification are synonymously used to the pre-soaking treatments applied to improve seed quality parameters.

2.1.1 Mechanisms and events associated with pre-sowing treatments

The key basis of all pre-sowing treatments is to hydrate the seed under controlled conditions, so that they become physiologically active. Thus they are able to initiate repair and detoxification systems and also to complete certain initial steps of germination without radicle emergence. Limited uptake of water appears to the key success in all treatments. According to Heydecker (1974) priming allows slow or fast seeds in a population to attain the same stage of readiness, a property of considerable significance in obtaining a rapid and uniform population of seedlings.

2.1.2 Biochemical changes associated with pre-sowing treatments

A limited number of studies have been conducted on the biochemical basis of presowing treatments. Some observed changes are : DNA metabolism : Coolbear and Grierson (1979) showed that the priming did not cause any change in DNA content of tomato seeds during treatment. Similarly, there was little DNA synthesis prior to radicle protrusion in treated lettuce seeds (Khan et al., 1978). They found that DNA synthesis may not coincide with radicle protrusion and that priming may be associated with processes related to cell elongation and expansion. RNA synthesis : Pre-sowing treatment not only increased the accumulation of RNA in tomato but also advanced the time of synthesis (Khan et al., 1978).

2.1.3 Influence of plant growth regulator

Application of GA3 as an aqueous solution followed by drying the seed has enhanced seedling growth in cotton and chickpea, with increase in coleoptile in wheat, hypocotyl length in lettuce and stem elongation in peas. Treatments in chickpea with 100 ppm GA3 resulted in an increase in the number of pods per plant, yield per plant and total yield, with similar yield improvements reported in maize, sorghum and sunflower in which oil content also increased (Powell and Matthews, 1988).

2.1.4 Effect of pre-sowing treatments on seed quality

Heydecker et al. (1975) have extensively used pre-sowing treatments an inert osmoticum, polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000 or 8000). They have reported significant improvement of seed quality parameters in vegetables and flower seeds. Beneficial effects of seed treatment with potassium phosphate on germination, field emergence, uniformity of emergence and seedling growth were reported in tomato and capsicum (Dimov et al.,1977). Yaklich and Orzolek (1977) observed early emergence of sweet pepper seeds when pre-soaked in 8 bars solution of PEG-6000 (240 g/l water) and pre-treatment of onion, carrot

and tomato seeds with 12 bars of PEG-6000 shortened the germination period by about 25 per cent (Muhyaddin and Wiebe, 1989). Rudrapal and Basu (1980) found that hydration-dehydration of stored mustard seed for two hours slowed down physiological deterioration. In tomato, one week of priming in PEG 6000 solution was the ideal seed priming period to increase germination rate (Wolfe and Sims, 1982). Dollypan and Basu (1985) observed in carrot seed that mid-storage hydrationdehydration treatment for two hours followed by drying effectively reduced physiological deterioration during subsequent storage, better field emergence and final yield. Dey and Mukherjee (1986) reported that pre-soaking for six hours in water brought about a significant improvement in the storage life and vigour of mustard seed. Beneficial effects of seed treatment with potassium phosphate on germination, field emergence, uniformity of emergence and seedling growth were reported in cucumber and capsicum (Solanki and Joshi, 1985a). Solanki and Joshi (1985b) observed that pre-soaking of tomato and cauliflower seeds in GA3 for 12 hours at 10 and 5 ppm followed by drying markedly increased the germination percentage. The beneficial effects of the pre-sowing hardening treatments were primarily due to enlargement of embryo by creating free space between endosperm and embryo in tomato (Groot and Karssen, 1987). Haigh and Barlow (1987) found that PEG (-1.5 MPa and 1.75 MPa) treated seeds had significantly faster rate of germination, shorter time to 50 per cent germination and shorter time spread than the control in onion seeds. Germination was more closely related to ionic strength than to osmotic potential of the solution. Carrot seeds germinated well in the salt solutions of KH2PO4, KNO3 and PEG 6000 upto an ionic strength (Haigh and Barlow, 1987). Pepper seeds treated with KNO3 solution found to increase mean rate of germination with advancement of hypocotyl development, but seed germination per cent was not affected (Sundstorm and Edwards, 1989). In tomato seeds treated with KNO3 and KH2PO4, improved germination and reduction in time taken for 50 per cent germination have been noticed (Alvarado et al., 1987). Doijode and Raturi (1987) studied that effect of pre-germination hydrationdehydration on seeds of tomato, radish, onion garden pea, pre-soaked seeds exhibited high percentage of germination and seedling vigour. It was concluded that hydration-dehydration of seeds result in better establishment of seedling. Coolbear et al. (1987) showed that pre-sowing treatments (PST) can substantially enhance germination rate and improve uniformity. PST has also been shown to significantly improve the germination capacity of tomato seeds apart from emergence rate under severe moisture stress conditions (30C- 0.5 MPa); but uniformity varied with seed lot. Hydration-dehydration treatment for six hours in tomato, radish, onion, cluster bean and garden pea seeds resulted in improved germination, seedling vigour, better establishment and mobilization of food reserves into the growing seedlings (Doijode and Raturi, 1987) and effectively slowed down the physiological deterioration in onion (Choudhury and Basu, 1988), in brinjal and radish (Rudrapal and Nakamura, 1988). Zhang et al. (1988) reported that seed priming with 20-25 per cent PEG offers a means for raising germination percentage and vigour index in various deteriorated peanut seeds. Hydration-dehydration treatment, also known as hydro-priming, is most effective in low vigour seed lots of tomato showing that the hydration and dehydration is a viable alternative to improve performance in medium quality seed lots (Penaloza et al., 1993). Purushotham et al. (1993) reported that seed hardening of pigeonpea and cowpea with CaCl2 @ 0.4 per cent gave highest germination (97.8%), vigour index (5007), while

cycocel @ 0.2 per cent gave highest germination (97.6%), vigour index (5001) compared to other treatments. Based on the laboratory studies on germination per cent, vigour index and root-shoot, calcium chloride at 0.4 per cent and CCC at 0.2 per cent were found to be the best chemicals for seed hardening in sorghum, pigeonpea and cowpea (Rangaswamy et al., 1993). Kalavathi and Ranganayaki (1993) reported that soaking of cardamom seeds in GA3 300 ppm recorded 61 per cent germination as against 45 per cent in the control. Jagadish et al. (1994) reported that hydration-dehydration treatment improved germination capacity of slightly deteriorated seeds in tomato, chilli and onion. They reported significant enhancement in germination and seedling growth when these seeds were treated with PEG @ -1.20 MPa. There were significant differences in germination and seedling vigour index of seeds treated with KNO3 @ 200 mM, KH2PO4 @ 150 mM and Na2HPO4 @ 150 mM (Jagadish et al., 1994) over the untreated control in tomato, capsicum and onion. They reported improvement in germination and seedling vigour index in seeds treated with GA3 @ 200 ppm over untreated control in tomato, capsicum and onion. Renugadevi et al. (1994) reported that soaking of bittergourd seeds with KNO3 (1%)has given maximum germination percentage (100), vigour index (1540) and speed of germination (25.82) compared to control (54, 1209, 9.89 respectively). Jagadish et al. (1994) reported significant improvement in germination and seedling length when tomato, capsicum and onion seeds were treated with PEG @ -1.20 MPa. Van Pijlen et al. (1995) reported that tomato seed, invigorated in solution of KNO3 or polyethylene glycol (8000) would counteract the adverse effect of storage and reduced the mean time for germination as much as 53 per cent. Sanjay kumar et al. (1996) reported significant improvements in vegetative and reproductive characteristics in 16 months old seeds of okra by growth regulator treatment. Among the plant growth regulators, GA3 was most effective than others. Yongqing (1996) soaked newly harvested tomato seed with PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa). Osmotic pre-treatments stimulated germination, increased uniformity of germination and seedling growth. Freshly treated seeds with PEG solution showed better germination. Passam et al. (1997) noticed that pepper seeds treated with PEG @ -1.20 MPa recorded increase in seed quality parameters. Palanisamy and Punithavathi (1998) hardened ragi seeds with chemicals like KCl, CaCl2, and aqueous leaf extracts like prosopis and pungam each at one per cent concentration as well as their combination followed by pelleting with pungam leaf powder. It showed that seeds hardened with KCl (1%) followed by pelleting with pungam leaf powder (60 g/kg) recorded the highest germination and seed vigour. Carter (1998) reported that the effect of the GA3 and ethephan were additive as the highest germination at 40C was obtained with 3.5 mM ethephan and 3.0 mM GA3 with reduced abnormal radicles (<1%). According to Bruggink et al. (1999), soaking of seeds is generally intended to reduce time to germination, often leading to improved emergence. However as a negative side effect, priming reduces longevity of seeds. Sabir-Ahamed (1999) revealed that the greengram seeds treated with Na2HPO4 @ 50 ppm and KH2PO4 @ 50 ppm increased the seed yield by 17.0 and 12.8 per cent respectively over control. Srinivasa Rao et al. (2000) studied that imbibed chilli seeds showed 3.7 and 2 folds increase in germination percentage at 0.4 MPa on 12th day when compared to untreated seeds. Root growth was significantly higher in the primed seed at 0.4 MPa compared to untreated seed. Germination per cent and seedling vigour index in tomato cv. Pusa ruby were found to be influenced by inorganic salts such as KNO3 @ 1%, KH2PO4 @ 1%, (Gayathri, 2001).

Maximum beneficial effect in terms of enhanced seed performance, storability and seedling production was noticed in IAHS-1 tomato hybrid by invigorating seeds with hydration-dehydration (Gayathri, 2001). Gayathri (2001) also observed priming of tomato seeds with PEG @ -1.0 MPa recorded maximum germination and vigour index as against PEG @ -1.5 MPa. Nalini et al. (2001) reported that soaking of onion seeds in GA3 (100 ppm) has given highest germination (88.70%) compared to control (82.0%). Geetharani and Ponnuswamy (2002) reported that tomato seed hardened with sodium and potassium dihydrogen phosphate (0.5%) for 16 hours was found to increase the seed germination and vigour. Kanaujia et al. (2002) reported that soaking of onion seeds in GA3 20 ppm has given higher germination (79%) when compared to control (71%). Mohandoss and Rajesh (2003) revealed that the exogenous application of GA3 substantially increased the growth and yield in cowpea. The maximum effect was found in spraying of GA3 @ 200 ppm which enhanced both growth and yield. Yogananda et al. (2004) noticed that bell pepper seeds invigorated with GA3 (200 ppm) or KNO3 (1.0%) recorded higher germination, root and shoot length, seedling dry weight, rate of germination and seedling vigour index over control. 2.1.5 Effect of pre-sowing treatments on field performance The most spectacular results was reported by MartJanova et al. (1961) who reported 100 per cent increase in yield in water stressed tomatoes as a result of one cycle wetting and drying treatment. Maximum yield of fruits by weight was obtained from plants raised from the brinjal seeds treated with GA3 40 ppm (Sadawarte and Gupta, 1963). The soaking and drying treatment has been proved successfully with improved plant growth and yield of tomato (Berrie and Drennan, 1971; Gafarov, 1973). Pre-soaking of tomato and capsicum seed for three hours in one per cent potassium nitrate improved field emergence and uniformity in emergence (Basu et al., 1974). Sodium di-phosphate (10 M) treatment proved better than water soaking for field performance and productivity of tomato seed (Mitra and Basu, 1979). Enhancement in germination, plant height, plant dry weight and yield was noticed when okra seed was treated with GA3 and IAA (Omran et al., 1980). Karivartharaju and Ramakrishnan (1985) reported that pre-soaking of ragi seeds with KNO3 (1%) for three hours improved field emergence and uniformity in emergence. Subbian et al. (1987) reported that soaking of greengram seed with cytozyme 0.5 per cent and MnSO4 100 ppm gave more number of fertile nodes per plant (5.8), pod number per plant (15.1), number of seeds per pod (10.9), 100-seed weight (g) (3.52) and seed yield (822 kg/ha) over control. PEG 6000 treatment at 1.2 MPa significantly improved the field establishment in tomato and onion; plant height and number of leaves in tomato, capsicum and onion; number of fruits per plant in tomato and capsicum, bulb diameter and length in onion. The final yield significantly enhanced in onion and capsicum; but not in tomato (Alvarado et al., 1987). Sodium salt (Na2HPO4) and KH2PO4 treatment significantly enhanced field establishment, plant height, number of leaves, fruit number and fruit weight per plant and yield, as noticed by Saxena et al. (1987) in tomato and capsicum. KNO3 at 200 mM significantly enhanced field establishment, plant height, number of leaves, number of fruits per plant and yield in tomato and capsicum. At low concentration (100 mM), KNO3 treatment significantly improved plant establishment and plant height in tomato and number of fruits per plant in capsicum. The role of KNO3 treatment in improving uniformity, dry weight, ripe fruits and yield and making early harvest possible has been reported by Barlow and Haigh (1987).
-4

Srinivasalureddy and Palaniappan (1987) conducted field experiment on clay loam soils of Coimbatore to find out the effect of pre-sowing seed soaking on the performance of greengram (CO-3). Number of pods per plant and number of seeds per pod were highest in the seeds soaked in cytozyme + MnSO4 which gave 20 per cent increase in seed yield over control. Vijaykumar et al. (1988) reported that pre-sowing treatment of bhendi with potassium di-hydrogen phosphate (0.5%), significantly increases higher number of fruits (14.0), fruit weight (47.9 g) and seed yield (25.57 g) over control. Hore et al. (1988) stated that onion seeds treated with Na2HPO4 (0.5%) and KH2PO4 (0.5%) significantly enhanced field establishment, plant height, number of leaves, fruit weight per plant and yield over control. Germination energy and field emergence of onion seeds were increased by 17 to 22 per cent by using aerated solutions of 0.4 to 0.5 per cent KNO3 and K3PO4. Crop yield was increased by 21-28% (Goobkin, 1989). Bradford et al. (1990) noticed that pre-sowing treatment of pepper seeds with KNO3 (1%) recorded higher seed quality parameters and field establishment. Sharma et al. (1992) observed that the brinjal seed treated with 300 ppm GA3 had the highest number of fruits and yield per hectare. Jagadish (1993) observed that in case of onion cv. Pusa red, plant stand, growth and number of bulb leaves were significantly greater than control in seeds treated with GA3 200 ppm, KNO3 200 mM KH2PO4 (150 mM) and Na2HPO4 150 mM, PEG 6000 1.24 MPa showed significant difference in plant height and bulb leaves only. Significant bulb yield was recorded with PST in GA3 200 ppm, KNO3 200 mM, KH2PO4 and Na2HPO4 at 150 mM. Jagadish (1993) reported that in capsicum hybrid, significant increase in establishment growth and number of leaves were found (with GA3 200 ppm; KNO3 200 mM and Na2HPO4 150 mM). On the contrary, significant yield increase was recorded only in GA3 200 ppm, KNO3 200 mM, Na2HPO4 150 mM and PEG 1.2 MPa pre-sowing treatments. Jagadish (1993) observed in tomato, pre-sowing seed treatment with GA3 at 200 ppm, KNO3 at 200 mM, Na2HPO4 and KH2PO4 at 150 mM and PEG 1.24 MPa significantly increased plant height, number of leaves at all stages of growth. Further, significant increase in number of fruits and fruit weight per plant and total fruit yield were obtained with GA3 200 ppm and KNO3 (200 mM). Arun et al. (1997) reported that spray of GA3 @ 200 ppm resulted in highest plant height followed by seed soaking with GA3 @ 15 ppm in brinjal cv. Pusa Purple Long. Arun et al. (1997) reported that plant spray of GA3 @ 100 ppm in brinjal cv. Pusa Purple Long resulted in more number of branches per plant. Arun et al. (1997) reported that root dipping of brinjal seedlings with GA3 250 ppm and IAA 100 ppm produced more number of fruits, highest fruit weight and maximum yield per hectare which amounts to 69, 58 and 55 per cent increase in yields, respectively over control. Nalini et al. (2001) studied the effect of pre-sowing seed treatment in onion seeds. Pre-sowing seed treatment with GA3 100 ppm improved per cent germination (88.7), while GA3 10 ppm has shown highest seedling length (7.25 cm), plant height (50.6 cm), onion bulb diameter (5.91 cm), bulb yield (60.00 q/ha) compared to control.

2.2

SEED PELLETING

Seed pelleting is the process of enclosing a seed with a small quantity of inert material just large enough to produce a globular unit to facilitate precision planting. The inert material creates natural holding media and provides small amount of nutrients to young seedlings (Krishnasamy, 2003). Pelleting improves the chances of successful germination and seedling establishment under field conditions (Barathi et al., 2003) and protect the seed from fungal and insect attack finally contributing to increased seed yield (Taylor and Eckenrode, 1993). However, performance of pelleted seeds is influenced by several factors viz., seed coating materials, soil and aerial environment and further physical, chemical and biological components.

2.2.1 Effect of seed pelleting on seed quality during storage

Koteshwar Rao et al. (1962) reported that seed pelleting of chilli with thiram improved emergence and untreated seed showed lowest emergence after 10 months of storage. Grover and Bansal (1970) conducted an experiment on chilli seed and reported that among fungicides, seeds treated with thiram, captan and brassicol were found to be more effective in controlling Colleteotrichum capsici. Soybean seeds pelleted with lime and rock-phosphate gave higher average yield per plant than unpelleted seeds in acid soil (Iswaran et al., 1970). Iswaran and Chhankar (1971) studied the effect of seed pelleting with phosphorus compound on yield and found that a mixture of 50 per cent basic slag and 50 per cent bone meal registered the highest yield in peas. Storage behaviour of pelleted seed is very much depended upon the pelleting material, kind of seed and storage container (Roos, 1979). Soybean seed yields were increased by 25.18 per cent when seeds were treated with bavistin (2 g/kg) over control (Ganacharya, 1979). Casela et al. (1979) reported that soybean seeds treated with bavistin and captan increased seed germination from 50 per cent (with no treatment) to 62 and 63 per cent, respectively. Sullivan (1979) reported that soybean seeds treated with bavistin (2 g) showed higher germination throughout the storage period and there was a continuous improvement in quality of treated seeds. Bujdoso (1979) recommended cucumber seed treatment with ceresan, thiram or captan to protect from storage fungi and also to maintain higher germination. Borelli et al. (1980) revealed that effect of fungicide seed treatment on seedling emergence and vigour of soybean, seed treated with thiram (0.5%) recorded highest emergence of seedling. Muthuswamy et al. (1983) reported that among all the fungicides tested for chilli, captan (4 g/kg), sulphur dust (4 g/kg), bavistin (2 g/kg), vitavax (2 g/kg) recorded higher germination. Subbarao (1984) found that oat and brinjal seeds pelleted with nutrients performed better over unpelleted seeds during storage. In the field trials of legumes with various seed treatments, seed pelleting had a significant positive influence on emergence and seed yield (Zubal, 1986). Hegde and Hiremath (1987) reported that cowpea seeds when treated with four fungicides viz., captan, thiram, dithane M-45 and bavistin showed the improved germination. Bavistin @ 2.5 and 5.0 g per kg of seeds was effective in improving root and shoot length even after 90 days of storage. Fungicide treated coriander seeds maintained higher germination per cent over the untreated ones during 60 days of storage. The germination potential of coriander seeds gradually decreased with increase in moisture content even after seed treatment (Prasad, 1988). Ahmed (1989) concluded that pelleting of soybean seed with arappu leaf powder and sambangi seed powder maintained 70 per cent germination over 8 months of ambient storage. Gupta et al. (1989) reported that when onion seeds are treated with thiram, captan, planofix and cytozyme as alone and in combinations, it could maintain its shelf-life upto one year. Gupta and Dharamsingh (1990) revealed that the viability of vegetable mung and cowpea seeds was not affected upto 36 months and 28 months, respectively, when stored under ambient condition after pelleting with thiram and bavistin.

Abugaliv et al. (1990) recorded root weight and root sugar content as 49.7 tonnes root and 7.48 per cent sugar per hectare respectively by the use of pelleted seeds as compared to 45.00 and 6.59 per cent, respectively for untreated seeds of sugar beet. Balaji (1990) reported that the seed pelleting with arappu leaf powder using gum arabica @ 100 ml per kg of seeds helped in better establishment of crop there by enhancing germination, growth and development of soybean and other field crops. Angumuthu (1991) observed that seeds pelleted with polymer and Arappu leaf powder registered higher values of field emergence, potential plant height, ear length and seed yield in minor millets. Nargis and Thiagarajan (1991) reported that tomato seeds pelleted with arappu leaf powder @ 300 mg per kg and pungam leaf powder @ 200 mg per kg recorded higher germination percentage, seedling vigour index and field emergence over control. Dhyani et al. (1991) revealed that seed treatment with thiram or vitavax each at 0.3 per cent concentration of seed weight improved seed germination and seedling length of chilli. Mishra and Prasad (1991) evaluated efficacy of seed pelleting on plant growth in cowpea. Seeds pelleted with carbofuran at one per cent gave best plant growth and effectively. Nargis et al. (1992) reported that tomato seeds pelleted with arappu leaf powder (Albizia amara) @ 300 g/kg of seeds has given maximum germination (87%) when compared to control (80) and there was a slight increase in viability and vigour when these treated seeds were stored in paper bags under ambient conditions. Seed pelleting with arappu leaf powder registered improvement in germination, seedling length, dry matter accumulation and vigour in ash gourd seeds (Renugadevi, 1992). Kuppuswamy et al. (1992) reported that greengram seeds pelletd with biogas fresh slurry (50%) with DAP (5%) influenced favourably the seed yield (1.77 t/ha) over unpelleted seeds (1.18 t/ha). Ramanatham and Sivaprakasam (1992) observed that chilli seed pelleted with fungicide, fungal metabolite and bacterial metabolite maintained better germination percentage, seedling shoot length, root length, vigour index and field emergence over the untreated ones. Viability of brinjal seeds fell below the prescribed standards 18 months after harvest when the seeds treated with thiram, delson, bavistin, dithane M-45, brassicol and redomil. The fungicides did not improve germination significantly (Anuja Gupta and Dharamsingh, 1993). The seed pelleting containing fungicide, a mixture of thiram and bavistin (2 g per kg of seed and insect growth regulator (5.0 g per kg of seed) offers better storability and further maintains seed quality (Taylor and Eckenrode, 1993). Pelleting of cabbage seeds with a carrier and the antagonists Gliocladium virens, Pencillium corylophilum and Trichoderma spp. enhanced seed germination and field establishment (Bhargava, 1993). Reddy and Reddy (1994) treated the seeds of egg plant with thiram (2 g/kg) and bavistin (2 g/kg) and observed that both the chemicals maintained higher germination upto 21 months of storage. Raju and Sivaprakasam (1994) noticed highest (>80%) germination in cabbage seeds pelleted with thiram and bavistin, after six months of ambient storage while untreated control seeds could give 71 per cent germination. Ramanathan and Sivaprakasam (1994) could noticed highest germination and root length in chilli seeds stored for one year under ambient condition after treating with thiram @ 0.4 per cent. Renugadevi et al. (1995) observed that seed pelleting of ash gourd and ribbed gourd with arappu leaf powder was found to be the best pre-sowing seed management practice, as it enhanced field emergence and seedling vigour index.

Vasantha (1995) reported that pigeonpea seeds treated with arappu leaf powder prior to storage showed good effect on germination, seedling vigour and were stored better up to ten months without loss of viability. Nargis (1995) indicated that the pelleted seeds of tomato could be stored safely upto five months. Devi and Selvaraj (1995) observed highest mean germination (88.7 and 92.7%) with arappu leaf powder pelleting in ash gourd and ribbed gourd respectively through out the storage period of ten months under ambient condition. While, working with tomato seeds, Nargis (1995) reported that the germination, vigour and field establishment were increased by the arappu leaf powder pelleting not only in fresh seeds but also in artificially aged seeds. Pelleting of carrot seeds with Gypsum + DAP + micronutrient mixture recorded increased seedling vigour and crop performance in the field than the uncoated seeds (Ramesh, 1996). Ponnusamy and Vijaya (1997) reported that cowpea seed pelleted with macronutrient followed by fortified with micronutrients has given significantly higher germination (95%), 100seed weight (8.58), seed yield (12.4 g/plant) and number of seeds per pod (11.8) compared to control. Ahmed Raza (1997) in onion found that seed coated with arappu leaf powder @ 500 g per kg increased the seed vigour and germinability. Sharma et al. (1998) reported that the seeds of chilli dried to six per cent moisture content and treated with bavistin (2 g/kg seed) gave significantly higher germination over control. Kamble et al. (1999) opined that among six fungicides viz., captan, thiram, benlate, bavistin, dithane M-45 and dithane Z-78, the most effective fungicides inhibiting the growth of the seed fungi in cucumber, pumpkin, watermelon and muskmelon were bavistin and captan. Suresh (1999) reported that onion seeds treated with captan 2 g per kg of seeds recorded significantly highest germination (88.00%), root length (5.23 cm), shoot length (5.62 cm), seedling dry weight (0.320 g), vigour index (951) and field emergence (59%) when compared to control. Srimathi et al. (2000) found that soybean seeds pelleted with nutrients using arappu leaf powder as a filler material excelled over others in germination. Patil (2000) reported that seed treatment with arappu leaf powder recorded higher germination (65.91%) and vigour index (1282) when compared to control at the end of 10 months of storage period in bengal gram. Biradar (2001) stated that greengram seeds treated with captan (2 g/kg of seeds) recorded significantly higher germination (82.54%), vigour index (1285) and low EC (1.87 -1 dSm ) as compared to untreated seeds after 10 months of storage period. Zorato and Henning (2001) treated soybean seeds with various fungicides and found that fungicide treatment (thiram + bavistin each 2 g/kg of seed) resulted in significantly higher field emergence (83.02) over control (74.00%). Sharanamma (2002) reported that chilli seeds treated with thiram (2 g/kg) recorded significantly higher seed quality parameters compared to untreated seeds. Renugadevi et al. (2002) reported that, soybean seeds pelleted with nutrients (DAP @ 5 g, MnSO4 @ 3 g/kg and ZnSO4 @ 3 g/kg) and fungicides (Thiram @ 2 g/kg) either individually or in combination improved seed yield (5-10%) and seedling vigour (18-21%) over control. Suman (2002) revealed that seed pelleting with zinc sulphate recorded increased seed yield (2002 kg/ha) and quality parameters such as germination (66.5%), root length (20.91 cm), shoot length (17.11 cm) and vigour index (36.37) in sunflower cv. Morden.

Srimathi et al. (2002) reported that among various nutrients, seed pelleting with ZnSO4 @ 250 mg per kg of seed improved initial seed quality and germinability of the seeds was maintained upto 3 months, in soybean cv. Co-1. Kavitha (2002) reported that blackgram seed hardened with prosopis leaf extract pelleted with nutrients maintained their viability upto six months of storage. Maraddi (2002) observed cowpea seeds treated with neem leaf powder @ 5 g per kg of seeds recorded higher germination (39.5%) and vigour index (1072) compared to control (34.2% and 864, respectively) at the end of 10 months of storage period. Krishnasamy and Basaria Begam (2003) studied the effect of seed hardening and pelleting and reported that black gram seeds hardened with leaf extract of Pongamia pinnata (1%) and pelleted with DAP (120 g) + Trichoderma (4 g/kg) + Rhizobium culture (75 g/kg) + Trichoderma (4 g/kg) + Rhizobium culture (75 g/kg) recorded the higher germination (99%) and seedling vigour (4451) as compared to control. Ponnusamy et al. (2003) reported that seed pelleting with macronutrient (120 g DAP/kg of seed) recorded maximum seed yield (7.20 kg/plot), seed recovery (93%) and germination of 95 per cent in blackgram. Seed yield of sesame was increased by 20.6 per cent over control by pelleting with gypsum 300 g + ammonium molybdate + ZnSO4 + MnSO4 (300 mg each per kg of seed). The pelleted seeds showed significant increase in seed germination and vigour by 2 and 6 per cent respectively (Balamurugan et al., 2003). Seed hardening with one per cent prosophis leaf extract followed by seed pelleting with DAP 40 g + ZnSO4 100 mg + FeSO4 100 mg + Ammonium molybdate 250 mg using 10 per cent maida as an adhesive improved seed yield and 100 seed weight in greengram (Umarani et al., 2003).

2.3 EFFECT OF CONTAINERS ON SEED QUALITY DURING STORAGE

Generally, seeds stored in moisture impervious sealed containers retain better quality compared to moisture previous containers under ambient conditions. The prevailing relative humidity and temperature of the storage atmosphere influence greatly on the longevity of seeds since moisture content of the seeds fluctuate more in the moisture pervious containers than the moisture impervious containers. The ideal package material should protect seeds from high moisture, to withstand low temperature and preserve viability for longer periods. Vegetable, flower and tree seeds maintained higher viability for two years, when seed stored in sealed containers with low moisture content at 4C (Barton, 1953). Harrington (1973) found that a package which is moisture proof or moisture resistant would be more valuable in prolonging seed germination and vigour. Silva et al. (1976) reported that okra seeds with 6.6 per cent moisture content stored in glass and polythene bag retained higher germination capacity for 29 months in Brazil. Brinjal seeds stored in aluminium foil and polyethylene laminated pouches recorded 50 per cent germination at the end of 39 months of storage (Thulasidas et al., 1977). Ader (1978) stored the seeds of lettuce and carrot in different containers like paper bag, polythene bag and air tight glass jars. Experimental results showed that there was no loss of germination in both species when stored in air tight glass jars upto 7 years but it reduced in paper bags drastically. Baboth (1979) stored the seeds of three onion cultivars treated with four microelement solutions in paper bag at room temperature. The treated seeds gave 80 per cent germination and control seeds 53 per cent after 30 months of storage. Fischer (1980) stored the chilli seeds in five different containers and obtained the best results with seeds stored in sealed jars and plastic bags and it retained the initial germination capacity of 96 per cent for seven years. Popovska et al. (1981) noticed that when pepper and tomato seeds werestored under ambient condition for seven years, it could retain the viability of 67.8 and 89 per cent,

respectively, in glass bottle whereas no germination was noticed in cloth bag at the end of storage. Hesse (1984) stored the seeds of bean in tins with silica gel, cotton bags, aerated polythene bags, unaerated polythene bag and underground silo under ambient condition and could notice germination per cent at 95, 4, 3, 94 and 96, respectively, after 12 months of storage. Vanangamudi et al. (1986) reported that field and vigour potentials of 40 months old field bean seeds stored in 700 gauge polythene bag were superior to those stored in cloth bags. Gupta and Murty (1986) stored weed seeds of 12 species of Asteraceae for 24 months in open mouth bottle, paper bag and polythene bag at room temperature. Seed stored in polythene bag maintained viability for longer period followed by paper bag and open mouth bottle. Onion, carrot, parsley, lettuce and cabbage seeds were stored for 65 months in paper, biaxially oriented polyprophylene film and triple laminated aluminium foil packets. The wrapping material had no effect on germination percentage and the percentage germination decreased with increase in storage period in all species (Horky, 1988). Doijode (1988a) reported that among different containers, polythene bags were promising since, it was effective in preserving the seed viability (81%) and vigour of french bean for longer storage period. Reduction in germination percentage below the certification standard (70%) of onion seeds packed in cloth bag and stored in ambient condition was recorded at the end of 10 months of storage period (Gupta et al., 1989). Anuradha and Agrawal (1989) stored the seeds of tomato, carrot and onion in cloth bag under ambient condition whose initial germination per cent was 97, 59 and 97, respectively and noticed a germination per cent of 78, 22 and 73, respectively at the end of storage period of 33, 22 and 28 months, respectively. Onion seed stored in sealed polythene bag (700 gauge) maintained higher germination (70%) and vigour index, whereas untreated seed stored in cloth bag showed reduced germination (35%) and vigour index at the end of 10 months storage period (Vijayakumar et al., 1991). Verma et al. (1991) reported that the seeds of tomato and cauliflower maintained germination well within specified certification standards when stored in laminated bags under ambient condition for 10 months whereas, the seeds stored in paper bags could not. Seeds of cauliflower and tomato were stored in laminated bags, bamboo papers and unsealed polythene bags under ambient conditions. After 11 months of storage, the highest germination and seedling vigour was observed in laminated bags compared to bamboo paper and unsealed polythene bags (Verma et al., 1991). Elemery (1991) noticed the lowest seed germination at high seed moisture content when onion seeds of cultivar Gizab stored for three weeks in different containers. Shelar et al. (1992) dried the onion seeds to five per cent moisture content and stored in moisture permeable cloth bags, paper bags, plastic bags and aluminium foil pockets. It was observed that the germination was maintained above 70 per cent even after one year in plastic bags and aluminium foil packets, whereas more than 70 per cent germination was maintained for 300 days in other three containers (cloth bags, paper bags), after that it was reduced drastically. Patil and Shelar (1993) stored the seeds of tomato and brinjal in moisture pervious and imperious containers. The seed germination was maintained in both crops above 70 per cent for 540 days in impervious containers (polythene and aluminium foil packs). However, these could be stored safely for 420 days in moisture pervious containers (paper bags and card board containers). They also noticed that the fluctuation in moisture content of seed was greater in pervious than in impervious containers. Jagadish et al. (1994) stored the fresh seeds of onion cv. Pusa red in sealed tin, craft paper, aluminium pouches (20 m, 50 m), polythene bag (500 gauge) and paper bag. The

containers were kept for 18 months in ambient conditions. Both aluminium pouches retained maximum germination even after 18 months, compared to other containers. Pandey et al. (1994) stored onion seeds in cloth bag and polythene bags (700 gauge). They found that seeds packed in cloth bags lost viability within 9 months, while germination was more than 70 per cent upto 24 months in polythene bags. Saxena (1994) studied the effect of moisture content and packing material on various vegetable crop seeds like onion, tomato, okra, cabbage etc. He concluded that polythene bags (700 gauge) could be utilized for long-term storage of seeds having 6-8 per cent moisture content. Currah and Msika (1994) reported that when seeds of onion were stored in air tight jars and in paper packet under ambient conditions, the seeds stored in jars retained higher vigour when compared to the seeds in paper bag. Fischer (1994) stored the seeds of Capsicum annuum in sealed plastic flasks, glass jars and cloth bag for long time. The seeds stored in plastic flasks and glass jars maintained high germination even after 20-22 years, while seed stored in cloth bags showed marginal decrease in germination after three years at room temperature. Jagadish et al. (1994) reported that when the seeds of onion cultivar Pusa Red were treated with thiram (2 g/kg of seed) and then stored in vapour pervious and impervious containers at low humidity (15C and 10 per cent relative humidity) and under ambient conditions, the seeds packed in aluminium laminated pouch exhibited significant and least decline in quality at the end of 18 months storage, with 35 per cent field emergence compared to seeds stored in ambient conditions. Sahee et al. (1994) stored the seeds of tomato in impermeable and permeable packets and noticed the decline in germination per cent below certification standards (70%) before one year in the seeds stored in permeable pack whereas the seeds of impermeable packet maintained higher viability for more than one year. Caneppele et al. (1995) harvested the seeds of onion and stored in six types of packing. The highest loss was observed in permeable container than in impermeable containers. This difference was due to change in seed moisture content in permeable packing and the degree of hygroscopic equilibrium between seeds and their surroundings. Doijode (1995) observed that seeds of onion cultivar Nasik Red at 6.5 per cent moisture content when stored with or without silica gel desiccants in a kraft paper bag, a glass container, a polythene bag (700 gauge), the percentage of germination was more in seeds stored in polythene bag (700 gauge) than other container. Ilic (1995) noticed the highest germination (97%) in red pepper seeds after five years of storage in polythene bag as compared to paper bag. Chilli seeds extracted from ripe fruit were dried to 9.7 and 5.9 per cent moisture content and packed in aluminium foil, 500 gauge polythene and woven polypropylene sackes. These packets were kept under ambient conditions and in cold storages. The best packing material for maintaining viability and vigour was triple laminated aluminium foil and stored in cold storage than seed stored in other packages (Silva et al., 1997). Doijode (1997a) reported that the tomato seeds could maintain viability upto four years when stored in polythene bags of 700 gauge under ambient temperature of 16-35C as compared to sub-zero temperature of 2C. Doijode (1997b) reported that long melon seeds could maintain its viability upto two years when stored in polythene bag of 700 gauge under ambient temperature as compared to sub-zero temperature storage. Doijode (1997c) reported that the okra seeds maintained its viability upto two years when stored in polythene bag of 700 gauge under ambient temperature as compared to storage under sub-zero temperature. Sharma et al. (1998) reported the seeds of two varieties of chilli viz., Pusa Jwala and Mathania Local were sun dried to about six per cent moisture content and stored in polythene bags (700 gauge) and paper bags. The germination decline was higher in seeds stored in

paper bags as compared with those in 700 gauge in polythene bags. In paper bags germination of both the varieties declined below the minimum seed certification standard (MSCS) (60%) after 21 months of storage, whereas, in polythene bags the germination was maintained above MSCS level upto 25 months of storage. Seed moisture remained six per cent in polythene bags throughout the storage period whereas, it changed in paper bag with concomitant changes in relative humidity and temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. Marigold seeds with 7 0.5 per cent moisture content, maintained viability upto six months when stored in cloth bag and for a longer period when stored in polythene bag (Selvaraju et al., 1999). Patil (2000) reported that, chickpea seeds stored in polythene bag recorded significantly higher germination (68.36%), seedling dry weight (160 mg), vigour index (1369) and lower EC (1.45 dSm-1). While, there were 64.10 per cent, 141 mg, 1209 and 2.60 dSm-1 in those stored in cloth bag for a period of 10 months. Padma and Muralimohanreddy (2000) reported that the onion seed stored in polythene bag and aluminium foil pouch extended the storage life by five and seven months, respectively, over the seed stored in cloth bag or paper bag which had only 14 months of storage. The germination was highest even after 11 months of storage in laminated bags, whereas, it was less in paper bags. Hunje (2002) observed that chilli seeds stored in aluminium foil recorded significantly higher germination (89.67 82.83%), field emergence (84.0 76.7%), root length (9.77 6.85 cm), short length (8.55 6.38 cm), vigour index (1643 1076) and lower electrical -1 conductivity (0.808 1.57 dSm ) at the end of 20 months of storage period followed by polyethylene bag (700 gauge).

2.4 INTERACTION EFFECT OF SEED PELLETING AND CONTAINERS ON SEED QUALITY DURING STORAGE
Pillayarsamy et al. (1973) reported that chilli seeds of Cv. K-1 treated with thiram (@ 2 g per kg of seed) and stored in plastic containers produced superior germination over the control during storage period. Tomato seeds at 7 per cent moisture content, treated with captan and stored in moisture proof package maintained higher germination per cent over the cloth bag (Vadivelu and Ramaswamy, 1983). Palanisamy and Vanangamudi (1987) reported that germination of okra seeds gradually decreased during the period of storage irrespective of treatments and containers. Among the treatments, seed treated with captan (2 g/kg) and stored in polythene bag maintained highest germination percentage. Karivaratharaju et al. (1987) revealed that the seeds of brinjal cv. MPD-1 with seven per cent moisture content treated with captan gave 80 and 82 per cent germinability after 21 months of storage in cloth bag and polythene bag (700 gauge), respectively. Jacqueline and Selvaraj (1988) reported that the brinjal seeds pelleted with thiram and bavistin alone and the combined application gives maximum germination and vigour when stored in aluminium foil polythene pouch followed by polythene and cloth bag, after 18 months of storage. In a storage study involving the seeds of tomato (Marutham), chilli (C0-2), brinjal (PKM-1) and Okra (Pusa Sawani) were dried to seven per cent moisture content. These seeds were treated with captan and thiram @ 2 g per kg of seed and packed in cloth bag, paper bag and aluminium foil pouch and stored under ambient conditions. Among the seed treatment and containers, seeds stored in aluminium foil pouch with seed dressing by captan and thiram was the best. Tomato and chilli seeds could be stored with more than 77 and 70 per cent germination, respectively upto 18 months of storage period. Brinjal and Okra seeds could be stored with 78 and 84 per cent germination for 12 and 15 months of storage period, respectively (Jayaraj et al., 1988). Vijayakumar et al. (1991) observed that the onion seeds treated with Bavistin @ 2 g per kg seeds and stored in polythene bag maintained highest germination percentage (70%)

and vigour index (945) as compared to the seeds stored in cloth bag at the end of 10 months of storage period. The seeds of chilli cv. Pusa Jwala treated with 0.25 per cent thiram and stored in tin container showed less deterioration as compared to seeds stored in cloth bag (Anuja Gupta et al., 1994). Kotreppagouda (1997) reported that the chilli seeds treated with bavistin @ 1 g/kg seed and stored in polythene bag showed fairly high degree of preservation of seed quality by recording germination of 53.64 per cent while, control recorded 49.31 per cent at the end of six months of storage period. Sharma et al. (1998) reported that chilli seeds (with 6.0% moisture) treated with thiram (2 g/kg of seed) and stored in either polythene bag or cloth bag influence seed germination during storage. Suresh (1999) concluded that the onion seeds treated with captan (2 g/kg of seed) and stored in polythene bag (1000 guage) improves the seed quality. Ravikumar (2001) recorded the germination percentage above the minimum standards of seed certificate (60%) in cucumber seeds treated with thiram (2 g/kg) and stored in aluminium pouch. Sharanamma (2002) studied that chilli seeds treated with thiram (2 g/kg) and stored in polythene bag recorded highest seed quality parameters while untreated control seeds stored in paper bag recorded lowest seed quality parameters.

2.5 INFLUENCE OF STORAGE PERIOD ON SEED QUALITY DURING STORAGE

Roberts (1972) reported that seed deterioration during storage was due to the damage of cell membrane and enzyme, protein and nucleic acid accumulation, etc. and such degenerative changes resulted in the complete disorganization of membranes and cell organelles and ultimately causing death of the seed and loss of germination. Doijode (1986) reported loss of seed vigour in terms of germination, shoot length, seedling dry weight, electrical conductivity and sugars during storage at okra seeds. Doijode (1993) revealed that the seed storability and seedling vigour were related to storage period in bell pepper cv. Arka Mohini and Arka Gaurav. Seed germinability and vigour significantly differed with period of storage in both the cultivars and the decreased seed germinability was associated with decrease in seedling vigour. Chandrasenan (1996) reported that as the storage period increases there is decline in germination per cent, root length, shoot length, seedling vigour index, seedling dry weight. Suresh (1999) reported that the quality of onion seeds decreased with increase in storage period in all the treatment combinations. Joeraj (2000) observed that there was decline in seed quality parameters. Decline in synthetic activity and degradation of seed coat was noticed as the storage period advance in sunflower. Sharanamma (2002) studied that as storage period increases, seed pelleting with different chemicals recorded decline in seed quality parameters in chilli.

III. MATERIAL AND METHODS

The field and laboratory experiments were conducted to study the effect of presowing and seed pelleting treatments on seed quality of brinjal in the Department of Seed Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. The details of techniques adopted and materials used during the course of investigation are described in this chapter.

3.1

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

3.1.1 Location
The field experiment was conducted at the Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during rabi 2004, which is situated in transitional belt of Karnataka state at 15 North latitude and 76 East longitude and with an altitude 26 27 of 678 m above mean sea level. The storage experiment was carried out for a period of 12 months under ambient conditions in the laboratory of Department of Seed Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad from August 2004 to July 2005. Table 1. Soil physical and chemical properties of the experimental site Particulars A. Physical properties Clay (%) Silt (%) Fine sand (%) Coarse sand (%) B. Chemical properties Total N (kg/ha) Available P2O5 (kg/ha) Available K2O (kg/ha) pH Available Fe (ppm) Available Zn (ppm) Available Cu (ppm) Available S (ppm) Available Ca (Cmol(+)kg) (exchangeable) 265.0 10.8 245.0 6.7 6.0 0.6 1.2 25 25 32.70 9.50 31.24 26.56 Values

3.1.2 Soil characteristics of experimental site

The experiment site consisted of black clayey textured soil and was neutral in reaction. A composite soil sample to a depth of 0 30 cm was drawn from the experimental area before sowing and was analysed for physical and chemical properties. The soil physical and chemical composition are presented in Table 1.

3.1.3 Climatic conditions

The monthly meteorological data with respect to rainfall, air temperature and relative humidity for the period from January 2004 to May 2005 and average rainfall, temperature, relative humidity for the past 54 years are furnished in Table 2. Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad is situated in the north transitional tract of Karnataka state where the mean annual rainfall is 601.0 mm. The mean maximum temperature ranges from 22.0C (August) to 37.0C (April), mean minimum temperature ranges from 13.44C (December) to 21.48C (May). The mean monthly maximum relative humidity is 87.43 per cent (July) while the mean monthly minimum relative humidity is 51.18 (February). The entire cropping period received 153 mm rainfall from November to May. The highest maximum temperature recorded was 37.4C (April) while the highest minimum temperature was 12.5C (December). The lowest maximum and minimum temperature recorded during the cropping period were 29.4C (December) and 12.5C (December) respectively and maximum and minimum relative humidity were 67 per cent (January, 2005) and 42 per cent (March, 2005) respectively.

3.1.4 Previous crop in the experimental site

Commercial soybean crop was grown on the experimental plot in the previous kharif season during 2004.

3.1.5 Experimental site

The field experiment was conducted at Main Agricultural Research Station, Dharwad in plot No. 67 of C block.

3.1.6 Description of brinjal cultivar

The present experiments were conducted with brinjal hybrid (Arka Navneet), which was developed from Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore and released in the year 1984. It is a cross between IIHR 22-1 x Supreme. Its stem is green, angular leaves, broad in nature, fruits are large oval with deep purple shining skin, green calyx, duration of the crop is 150-160 days. The plant is tall (150 cm) with medium lobed leaves, bearing solitary fruits of oval shape, deep purple fruits, each weighing 450 g at marketable stage. It yields on an average 61-63 t per ha. It is resistant to bacterial wilt.

Table 2. Mean monthly meteorological data for experimental year (kharif 2004) and the mean of past 54 years (1950-2004) of Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad Rain fall (mm) Months January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 Total * Mean of past 54 years. 2004-05 0 0 0 24.4 61.1 43.8 24.8 160.7 222.1 64.6 0.6 0.0 48.0 0.00 Trace 75.0 29.4 151.0 290.2 602.1 Mean* 0.086 1.161 0.147 48.45 1.40 109.14 157.70 95.30 100.54 130.99 32.04 54.50 Temperature (C) Mean maximum Mean minimum 2004-05 Mean* 2004-05 Mean* 29.6 29.15 14.7 19.23 32.5 34.52 16.4 16.02 36.5 35.73 19.6 18.81 37.4 37.00 19.8 21.32 33.6 36.52 21.4 21.48 28.8 29.50 21.5 21.21 29.2 22.06 21.0 20.95 27.0 22.02 20.3 20.62 28.6 22.75 19.9 20.16 30.1 30.12 18.4 19.30 30.2 29.46 15.9 15.50 29.4 29.18 12.5 13.44 30.7 15.0 33.2 16.3 36.0 18.9 36.5 21.3 37.0 21.5 30.9 21.5 27.4 21.0 Relative humidity (%) 2004-05 54 53 49 51 66 80 79 83 77 65 52 59 67 62 42 53 55 76 83 Mean* 63.34 51.18 56.47 76.98 66.71 81.69 87.43 86.51 82.40 76.44 68.13 63.81 -

3.2 EXPERIMENT I : EFFECT OF PRE-SOWING TREATMENT ON SEED QUALITY AND FIELD PERFORMANCE OF BRINJAL HYBRID
3.2.1 Treatment details
The experiment consisted of 10 treatments involving one control (without pre-sowing treatment). The details of the treatments are given below. T1 : PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) T2 : GA3 (200 ppm) T3 : Cytozyme (0.5%) T4 : KNO3 (2%) T5 : CaCl2 (2%) T6 : KH2PO4 (0.5%) T7 : Na2HPO4 (0.5%) T8 : Cow urine (10%) T9 : Soaking-drying of seeds T0 : Control

3.2.2 Design and plan of layout

The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design. The plan of layout is shown in Fig. 1 and Plate 1. Gross plot Net plot - 3.0 m x 3.0 m - 1.8 m x 1.8 m

3.2.3 Preparation and procedure of pre-sowing treatments

3.2.3.1 Preparation of chemicals i. ii. PEG 6000 (-1.0MPa) It was prepared by dissolving 29.5 g of poly ethylene glycol (PEG) in distilled water and volume was made upto 1000 ml.

GA3 (200 ppm) It was achieved/prepared by dissolving 0.2 g of GA3 in distilled water and volume was made upto 1000 ml. iii. Cytozyme (0.5%) It was prepared by dissolving 5 ml of cytozyme in distilled water and volume was made upto 1000 ml. iv. KNO3 (2%) It was prepared by dissolving 20 g of KNO3 in distilled water and volume was made upto 1000 ml. v. CaCl2 (2%) 20 g of CaCl2 was dissolved in distilled water and volume was made upto 1000 ml to prepare CaCl2 (2%). vi. KH2PO4 (0.5%) It was prepared by dissolving 5 g of KH2PO4 in distilled water and volume was made upto 1000 ml. vii. Na2HPO4 (0.5%) 5 g of Na2HPO4 was dissolved in distilled water and volume was made upto 1000 ml to prepare Na2HPO4 (0.5%). viii. Cow urine (10%) It was prepared by dissolving 100 ml of cow urine in distilled water and volume was made upto 1000 ml. ix. Soaking drying of seed Five grams of brinjal seeds were taken and soaked in 50 ml of distilled water with maintaining 1:10 (w/v) ratio for six hours, then seeds were dried in shade to the original moisture level. 3.2.3.2 Procedure of pre-sowing treatments Freshly harvested seeds are soaked in water with required quantity of chemicals and allowed to absorb moisture upto 35 per cent of their weight and kept in imbibed condition for about six hours at about 25C. These are then spread out in a thin layer for drying under

R-I

R-II

R-III

T4

T2

T5

T9

T0

T1

T7

T6

T2

T4

T8

T5

T3

T9

T8

T6

T3

T9

T1

T5

T1

T0

T7

T6

3.0 m

T8 3.0 m

T0 1.0 m

T3

T7

T2

T4

Fig. 1. Plan of layout

shade for two to three days, during this period the seeds get dried almost to the original weight, then taken for nursery sowing.

3.2.4

Cultural operations

3.2.4.1 Nursery The raised seed beds of 7.5 m length, 1.2 m width and 10 cm height were prepared in the garden soil. Then five baskets of farm yard manure (FYM) and 500 g of 15:15:15 (N:P:K) complex was incorporated thoroughly into the soil. Brinjal seeds were placed one cm deep in the rows spaced at 5 to 6 cm and covered with a thin layer of soil. BHC (500 g) was dusted on the seed bed to avoid ants infestation and then covered with green leaves. The seed bed was watered daily during evening hours. The th healthy seedlings were transplanted on 28 day in the experimental plot. 3.2.4.2 Main field preparation The land was deep ploughed once and the land was brought to fine tilth by repeated harrowing and leveling. Then FYM was incorporated at the rate of 25 tonnes per ha into the soil. The ridges and furrows were opened at a distance of 75 cm and one metre wide irrigation channels were opened between the plots. Fertilizers at the rate of 125:100:50 NPK

Plate 1: General view of the experiment on brinjal hybrid (Cv. Arka Navneet)
kg per ha was applied as basal dose and remaining 50 per cent of the nitrogen was applied at 45 days after transplanting (DAT) as top dressing. 3.2.4.3 Transplanting Healthy seedlings of four weeks per hill were transplanted into main field where plots were made with a length of 5.4 m and a width of 3.75 m. The plants were transplanted with a 2 spacing of 60 cm in each row. Thus net plot size was 3.6 m . Gap filling and thinning were done after seven days of transplanting. 3.2.4.4 After care and plant protection The experimental plot was kept free of weeds by regular hand weeding. Depending upon soil and climatic condition, irrigation was given throughout the cropping period. To control fruit and shoot borer (Leucinodes orbonalis), carbaryl was sprayed at 4 g per litre at 15 days interval for 3 times. 3.2.4.5 Harvesting The fruits were harvested when they were fully matured and turned yellow in colour starting from 120 DAT. 3.2.4.6 Seed extraction Healthy and matured brinjal fruits were taken, cut into four pieces and imbibed in water for 48 hours. After fermentation process, the cut pieces were squeezed out to release the seeds from the pulp. Then these seeds were washed with running water and shade dried. When the seeds reach 8-10 per cent moisture content the weight of seeds from each treatment was recorded using electronic balance upto decimal point.

3.3

COLLECTION OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA

3.3.1 Sampling procedure

Samples were drawn at random from all the treatments for taking seed quality parameters. 3.3.1.1 Germination (%) Germination test was conducted in four replications of 100 seeds each by adopting between paper method as described in ISTA rules (Anon., 1999a). The temperature of 25C

1C and relative humidity of 95 per cent were maintained during the germination test. The first th th and final germination test, counts were made on 5 and 8 day of germination test respectively for normal seedlings and germination was expressed in percentage. 3.3.1.2 Speed of germination Seed germination test was conducted as described under para 3.3.1.1. Daily germination counts were recorded and the only normal seedlings were considered. The speed of germination was calculated by using the formula suggested by Maguire (1962). No. of seeds germinated No. of seeds germinated Speed of germination = -------------------------------+..+ ------------------------------Days to first count Days to final count 3.3.1.3 Root length (cm) From the germination test, ten normal seedlings were selected randomly in each th treatment from all the replications on 8 day. The root length was measured from the tip of the primary root to base of hypocotyl and mean root length was expressed in centimeters. 3.3.1.4 Shoot length (cm) Ten normal seedlings used for root length measurement, were also used for the measurement of shoot length. The shoot length was measured from the base of the primary leaf to the base of the hypocotyl and mean shoot length was expressed in centimeters. 3.3.1.5 Seedling vigour index The seedling vigour index (SVI) was calculated by adopting the method suggested by Abdul-Baki and Anderson (1973) and expressed in number by using the following formula Seedling vigour index = Germination (%) x (shoot + root length in cm) 3.3.1.6 Seedling dry weight (mg) The same ten normal seedlings selected for shoot and root length measurement were put in butter paper pocket and kept in an oven maintained at 75 1C for 24 hours. After drying, the seedlings were kept in a desiccator for one hour cooling. The weight of dried seedlings was recorded and mean weight was calculated and expressed in milligrams. -1 3.3.1.7 Electrical conductivity (dSm ) of seed leachate The five gram seeds from each treatment in four replications were weighed and soaked in acetone for half a minute for re-presowing and then rinsed thoroughly with water for three times. These seeds were soaked in 25 ml distilled water in a beaker and kept in an incubator maintained at 25 1C temperature, after 24 hours of soaking the solution was decanted and volume was made upto 25 ml by adding distilled water. The electrical conductivity of seed leachate was recorded using the Digital Conductivity Meter (Model Systonic 20). After substracting the EC of the distilled water from the value obtained from the leachates, the actual EC of the leachate was measured and expressed in dSm-1 at 251C (Gupta, 1993).

3.3.2 Growth parameters

In each treatment five plants were randomly selected and tagged for recording various biometric observations as detailed below. 3.3.2.1 Field emergence (%) One hundred seeds selected at random from each treatment in four replications were used for the field emergence studies. The seeds were sown in well prepared black soil. Field emergence count was taken on the 15th day after sowing and the emergence percentage was calculated by taking into account the number of seedlings emerged 3 cm above the soil surface to the total number of seeds sown. 3.3.2.2 Plant height (cm) Plant height was recorded from base of the plant to the top most leaf of the plant at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest stage. In each plot, five plants were selected and mean height was calculated and expressed in cm.

3.3.2.3 Number of leaves per plant Total number of leaves were estimated by counting the leaf from tip to bottom of the plant and it is expressed as leaf number per plant. 3.3.2.4 Number of branches per plant Total number of branches were counted at regular intervals and mean value of five plants was expressed as number of branches per plant. 3.3.2.5 Days to 50 per cent flowering The number of days for 50 per cent flower production was recorded by counting the days from transplanting to the date of which 50 per cent plant produced flower. 3.3.2.6 Fruit length (cm) Length of five mature fruits at marketable stage was measured individually in cm from the base of calyx to tip of fruit using vernier calipers and the average was calculated. 3.3.2.7 Fruit girth (cm) Fruit girth was measured by using vernier caliperse and later average was worked out and expressed in cm. 3.3.2.8 Fresh fruit yield per plant (g) The fruit harvested from five tagged plants were weighed in a physical balance and the average fruit yield per plant was calculated and expressed in grams. 3.3.2.9 Fruit yield per plot (kg/plot) The fruit yield per plot was computed by multiplying fruit yield per plant and total 2 number of plants in a gross plot of 9.0 m and was expressed in kg. 3.3.2.10 Fruit yield (t/ha) The fruit yield per hectare was calculated based on the fruit yield per plot and was expressed in t per ha.

3.4

EXPERIMENT II : EFFECT OF SEED PELLETING AND STORAGE CONTAINERS ON SEED QUALITY DURING STORAGE

3.4.1 Seed material

The four month old hybrid seed of brinjal Cv. Arka navneet, processed and cleaned were obtained from the Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad.

3.4.2 Treatment details

The experiment consisted of 12 treatment combinations involving five chemicals (Bavistin, ZnSO4, MnSO4, DAP, Arappu leaf powder and without chemical) as one factor and two containers (Paper bag, polythene bag 700 gauge) as another factor with four replications and laid out in CRD with two factorial concept. The details of the treatments are furnished below. Factor I P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P0 : Seed pelleting (P) : Bavistin (1%) : ZnSO4 (300 mg/kg) : MnSO4 (2%) : DAP (60 g/kg) : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg) : Control (without pelleting)

Factor II C1 C2 Treatment combinations 1. P1C1 2. P2C1 3. P3C1 4. P4C1 Adhesive material Filler material

: Containers (C) : Paper bag : Polythene bag (700 gauge) : 6 x 2 = 12 5. P5C1 6. P0C1 7. P1C2 8. P2C2 9. P3C2 10. P4C2 11. P5C2 12. P0C2

: Gum @ 30 ml per kg of seed : Ash @ 35 g per kg of seed

3.4.3 Procedure of seed pelleting

Before imposing seed treatments, the seeds were manually cleaned and subjected for processing. The three basic steps involved in seed pelleting are stated as stamping, coating and rolling. The materials needed for pelleting are seed, adhesive and filler materials. The seeds are uniformly coated with adhesive and chemicals mentioned in correct quantity initially. Then the filler materials (Ash) are sprinkled on the coated seeds and are rolled on the filler material for effective and uniform coating (Plate 2).

Plate 2: Seed pelleting with different chemicals 3.4.4 Method of storage

The seeds after pelleting as per treatment were dried back to their original moisture content and stored in paper bags and polythene bag (700 gauge) in the laboratory of the Department of Seed Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Dharwad (Zone-8) under ambient conditions for 12 months (Aug 2004 to July 2005).

3.4.5 Design of the experiment

The design of the experiment adopted was completely randomized block design with two factors including four replications.

3.4.6 Collection of experimental data

3.4.6.1 Sample procedure The seeds were drawn at random from the bags at biomonthly intervals for analyzing the seed quality parameters as detailed below. 3.4.6.2 Germination (%) The germination test was conducted by following the procedure as expressed under Section 3.3.1.1. 3.4.6.3 Speed of germination Speed of germination was conducted by the following procedure as explained under Section 3.3.1.2. 3.4.6.4 Root length (cm) The root length of seedlings was determined by adopting same procedure as under section 3.3.1.3. 3.4.6.5 Shoot length (cm) The shoot length of seedlings was determined by following the procedure as explained under Section 3.3.1.4. 3.4.6.6 Seedling vigour index The seedling vigour index (SVI) was determined by following the procedure as under Section 3.3.1.5. 3.4.6.7 Seedling dry weight (mg) The seedling dry weight was determined by following the procedure as explained under Section 3.3.1.6. 3.4.6.8 Field emergence (%) One hundred seeds selected at random from each treatment in four replications were used for the field emergence studies. The seeds were sown in well prepared black soil. Field th emergence count was taken on the 15 day after sowing and emergence percentage was calculated taking into account the number of seedlings emerged 3 cm above the soil surface. 3.4.6.9 Economics Economics of different pre-sowing treatments were worked out considering prevailing prices of inputs and outputs in the market.

3.5

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The mean experimental data was analysed by Fishers method of analysis of variance (Sundararaj et al., 1972). All the observations recorded were subjected to F test, wherever, F test found significant t test was carried out and level of significance used for t test was P = 0.05. The data on percentage germination and field emergence were transformed into arc sine root percentage and transformed data was used for the statistical analysis.

IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

The field and laboratory experiments were conducted to study the pre-sowing treatments and seed pelleting studies in brinjal, at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during 2004-05. The results generated from the above studies are presented in this chapter.

EXPERIMENT I : Effect of pre-sowing treatments on seed quality and field performance of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet
The results of the present investigation on influence of pre-sowing treatments on seed quality and field performance of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet are presented below.

4.1

INITIAL SEED QUALITY PARAMETERS

4.1.1 Germination percentage

The data on germination percentage as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 3 and Fig. 2. Pre-soaking of brinjal hybrid seeds for 6 hours in GA3 200 ppm recorded significantly higher germination (100%) compared to other treatments except KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), PEG-6000 (-1.0 MPa) and significantly lower germination percentage recorded in control (92.10).

4.1.2 Speed of germination

The results on speed of germination as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 3. Soaking of brinjal hybrid seeds for 6 hours in GA3 200 ppm recorded significantly higher speed of germination (14.28) compared to other treatments except KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), PEG-6000 (-1.0 MPa) and significantly lowest speed of germination recorded in the control (13.14).

4.1.3 Root length (cm)

The data on root length as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 3. Brinjal hybrid seeds soaked in GA3 200 ppm for 6 hours recorded significantly higher root length (5.99 cm) compared to other treatments except KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), PEG-6000 (-1.0 MPa) and significantly lowest root length was observed in control (4.85 cm).

4.1.4 Shoot length (cm)

The results on shoot length as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 3. Brinjal hybrid seeds pre-soaked for 6 hours in GA3 200 ppm recorded significantly higher shoot length (3.10 cm) , which was on par with KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) and significantly lowest shoot length was recorded in control (2.39 cm).

4.1.5 Seedling vigour index

The results on seedling vigour index as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 3 and Fig.2. Brinjal hybrid seeds pre-soaked for 6 hours in GA3 200 ppm recorded significantly highest seedling vigour index (909) followed by KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) which were on par with each other and significantly lowest seedling vigour index was recorded in control (667) (Plate 3).

4.1.6 Seedling dry weight (mg)

The data on seedling dry weight as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 3. Seeds of brinjal hybrid soaked in GA3 200 ppm for six hours, registered significantly higher seedling dry weight (300 mg) compared to other treatments, except KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) which were on par with each other and the lowest seedling dry weight was recorded in the control (216 mg).

Table 3. Effect of pre-sowing seed treatments on initial seed quality parameters of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet
Germination Treatments TO Control T1 PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) T2 GA3 (200 ppm) T3 Cytozyme (0.5%) T4 KNO3 (2%) T5 CaCl2 (2%) T6 KH2PO4 (0.5%) T7 Na2HPO4 (0.5%) T8 Cow urine (10%) T9 Soaking-drying Mean SEm CD at 5% (%) 92.10 (73.65)* 99.20 (84.75) 100 (88.13) 100 100 (88.13) (88.13) Root length (cm) 4.85 5.91 5.99 5.94 5.95 5.64 5.50 5.45 5.09 5.40 5.60 0.13 0.40 Shoot length (cm) 2.39 2.89 3.10 2.99 3.00 2.77 2.76 2.68 2.45 2.69 2.77 0.10 0.30 Seedling vigour index 667 872 909 893 895 825 795 782 710 777 813 24 70 Seedling dry weight (mg/10) 216 295 300 296 298 240 238 235 226 228 252 1.94 5.70 Speed of germination 13.14 14.14 14.28 14.28 14.28 13.93 13.71 13.71 13.42 13.71 13.87 0.11 0.32 EC (dSm-1) 0.022 0.015 0.010 0.013 0.012 0.017 0.018 0.019 0.021 0.020 0.017 0.001 0.003 Field emergence (%) 80.00 (63.43)* 87.10 (68.88) 90.10 (71.62) 88.10 (69.78) 89.00 (70.61) 86.10 (66.45) 84.10 (66.45) 84.10 (66.45) 82.10 (68.06) 83.10 (65.71) 85.50 (67.60) 0.85 2.65

98.10 (82.05) 96.20 (78.72) 96.20 (78.72) 94.10 (75.95) 96.10 (78.52) 97.90 (81.68) 1.23 3.61

* Figures in the parentheses indicate the arc sine root transformed values

102

Germination (%)

Seedling vigour index

1000 900

LEGEND T0 : Control T1 : PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) T2 : GA3 (200 ppm) T3 : Cytozyme (0.5%) T4 : KNO3 (2%) T5 : CaCl2 (2%) T6 : KH2PO4 (0.5%) T7 : Na2HPO4 (0.5%) T8 : Cow urine (10%) T9 : Soaking-drying

100 800 98 Germination (%) 700 600 500 94 400 300 200 90 100 88 T0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 Treatments Fig. 2: Effect of pre-sowing treatments on initial germination (%) and seedling vigour index of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet 0 Seedling vigour index

96

92

Fig. 2: Effect of pre-sowing treatments on initial germination (%) and seedling vigour index of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet

Plate 3: Effect of pre-sowing treatments on fruit length of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet 4.1.7 Field emergence (%)
The data on field emergence as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 3. Brinjal hybrid seeds pre-soaked for six hours in GA3 200 ppm recorded significantly, higher field emergence (90.10%), followed by KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) which were on par with each other and significantly lower field emergence was observed in the control (80%).

4.1.8 Electrical conductivity (dSm-1)

The data on electrical conductivity of seed leachate as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 3. Pre-soaking of brinjal hybrid seeds for 6 hours in GA3 200 ppm recorded significantly lower EC values (0.010 dSm-1) as compared to other treatments, except KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) and higher EC values recorded significantly in control (0.022 dSm-1).

4.2

GROWTH PARAMETERS
The results on plant height as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in

4.2.1 Plant height (cm)

Table 4. The pre-sowing treatments influenced the height of the plant significantly at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest. Brinjal hybrid seeds of Arka Navanet seeds were pre-soaked in GA3 at 200 ppm solution for six hours recorded significantly higher plant height of 17.75, 42.13, 94.13, 148.0 cm respectively at 30, 60, 90 DAT and harvest stage, than all other treatments T0, T5, T6, T7, T8 and T9 except T3, T4 and T1. The minimum height of the plant was recoded in control T0 (15.13, 34.60 84.0, 116.70 cm at 30, 60, 90 DAT and harvest stage, respectively).

4.2.2 Number of leaves per plant

The results on number of leaves as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 4. The number of leaves at 30, 60, 90 DAT and harvest exhibited significant results due to pre-sowing treatments. Brinjal hybrid (F1) seeds pre-soaked in GA3 at 200 ppm solution, recorded significantly higher number of leaves of 4.63, 45.13, 97.20, 107.26 per plant respectively at 30, 60, 90 DAT and harvest stage, than all other treatments viz., T0, T5, T6, T7, T8 and T9 except T1, T3 and T4. The minimum number of the leaves per plant were recorded in T0 (3.30, 36.10, 82.16, 89.20 at 30, 60, 90 DAT and harvest stage respectively.

Table 4. Effect of pre-sowing seed treatments on plant height and number of leaves at different growth stages in brinjal hybrid

Plant height (cm) Treatments 30 DAT 60 DAT 90 DAT At harvest 116.70 143.50 30 DAT

Number of leaves/plant 60 DAT 90 DAT At harvest 89.20 104.00

TO Control T1 PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) T2 GA3 (200 ppm) T3 Cytozyme (0.5%) T4 KNO3 (2%) T5 CaCl2 (2%) T6 KH2PO4 (0.5%) T7 Na2HPO4 (0.5%) T8 Cow urine (10%) T9 Soaking-drying Mean SEm CD at 5% DAT

15.13 16.75

34.60 39.40

84.06 90.53

3.30 4.38

36.10 42.00

82.16 94.98

17.75 16.96 17.31 16.00 15.99 15.88 15.49 15.88 16.31 0.54 1.61

42.13 40.46 41.80 38.13 37.80 36.33 35.10 36.20 38.19 1.07 3.17

94.13 92.26 95.26 89.60 89.40 87.33 85.40 86.80 89.47 1.40 4.16

148.00 145.00 146.50 121.20 120.00 119.80 119.30 119.33 129.93 1.73 5.15

4.63 4.40 4.53 4.06 4.06 3.93 3.73 3.93 4.09 0.15 0.44

45.13 42.90 43.50 39.13 38.60 38.16 38.20 38.50 40.22 1.45 4.31

97.20 95.66 96.11 88.86 87.86 85.26 84.16 83.50 89.57 2.36 6.76

107.26 104.89 105.14 95.53 93.30 90.86 89.66 90.13 96.99 2.77 8.25

Days after transplanting

4.2.3 Number of branches per plant

The results on number of branches per plant as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 5. The pre-sowing treatments influenced significantly the number of branches per plant at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest. F1 hybrid of brinjal seeds pre-soaked in GA3 at 200 ppm solution, recorded significantly higher number of branches 3.60, 17.03, 39.27, 52.93 per plant respectively at 30, 60, 90 DAT and harvest stage, than all other treatments T0, T5, T6, T7, T8 and T9 except T1, T3 and T4. The minimum number of branches per plant were recorded in T0 (3.00, 13.20, 33.03, 42.00 per plant at 30, 60, 90 DAT and harvest stage respectively).

4.2.4 Days to 50 per cent flowering

The results on days to 50 per cent flowering as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 5.

Table 5. Effect of pre-sowing seed treatments on number of branches per plant and days to 50 per cent flowering at different growth stages in brinjal hybrid
Number of branches per plant Treatments TO Control T1 PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) T2 GA3 (200 ppm) T3 Cytozyme (0.5%) T4 KNO3 (2%) T5 CaCl2 (2%) T6 KH2PO4 (0.5%) T7 Na2HPO4 (0.5%) T8 Cow urine (10%) T9 Soaking drying Mean SEm CD at 5% 30 DAT 3.00 3.50 3.60 3.53 3.60 3.01 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.22 0.12 0.37 60 DAT 13.20 16.10 17.03 16.56 16.89 14.00 13.66 13.60 13.16 13.30 14.75 0.73 2.17 90 DAT 33.03 36.93 39.27 38.01 38.40 35.73 35.66 35.60 33.47 34.06 36.01 1.10 3.26 At harvest 42.00 49.93 52.93 50.26 51.40 45.46 45.40 44.46 44.06 44.53 47.04 1.82 5.41 Days to 50 per cent flowering 67.33 62.10 60.31 61.73 61.56 63.70 64.00 64.03 64.43 64.33 63.35 0.77 2.29

DAT

Days after transplanting

The days to 50 per cent flowering differed significantly due to the pre-sowing treatments. The presowing treatment with GA3 at 200 ppm recorded significantly lower number days to 50 per cent flowering (60.31) than other treatments except KNO3, (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa). However, control recorded significantly more number of days to 50 per cent flowering (67.33) than all other pre-sowing treatments.

4.2.5 Fruit length (cm)

The results on fruit length as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 6 and Fig. 3. F1 hybrid of brinjal seeds pre-soaked in GA3 at 200 ppm solution, recorded significantly higher fruit length of 10.77 cm than all other treatments T0, T5, T6, T7, T8 and T9 except T1, T3 and T4. The minimum fruit length was recorded in T0 (7.35 cm) (Plate 4).

4.2.6 Fruit girth (cm)

The results on fruit girth as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 6.

The pre-sowing treatments influenced the fruit girth significantly from control. Brinjal hybrid (F1) seeds pre-soaked in GA3 at 200 ppm solution recorded significantly higher fruit girth of 25.70 cm than all other treatments T0, T5, T6, T7, T8 and T9 except T1, T3 and T4. The minimum fruit girth was recorded in T0 (18.08 cm).

4.2.7 Fruit yield per plant (g) Table 6. Effect of pre-sowing seed treatments on fruit length and fruit girth of brinjal hybrid
Treatments TO Control T1 PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) T2 GA3 (200 ppm) T3 Cytozyme (0.5%) T4 KNO3 (2%) T5 CaCl2 (2%) T6 KH2PO4 (0.5%) T7 Na2HPO4 (0.5%) T8 Cow urine (10%) T9 Soaking drying Mean SEm CD at 5% Fruit length (cm) 7.35 9.81 10.77 9.87 10.37 7.74 7.70 7.68 7.41 7.46 8.62 0.80 2.39 Fruit girth (cm) 18.08 23.98 25.70 24.74 24.89 19.00 18.98 18.76 18.10 18.62 21.09 0.95 2.81

The results on fruit yield per plant as influenced by the pre-sowing treatments are presented in the Table 7 and Fig. 4. The fruit yield per plant differed significantly due to the pre-sowing treatments. The pre-sowing treatment of seeds with GA3 200 ppm recorded significantly higher fruit yield per plant (567.90 g) than the other treatments except KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa). However, control recorded significantly lower fruit yield per plant (450.20 g) than all other pre-sowing treatments.

4.2.8 Fruit yield per plot (kg)

The results on fruit yield per plot as influenced by the pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 7. The fruit yield per plot also differed significantly due to the pre-sowing treatments. The pre-sowing treatment with GA3 @ 200 ppm was recorded significantly higher fruit yield per plot (14.19 kg) than other treatments except KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), PEG 6000

12

Legend TO Control T1 PEG 6000 (-1.0 M Pa) T2 GA3 (200 ppm) T3 Cytozyme (0.5%) T4 KNO3 (2%) T5 CaCl2 (2%) T6 KH2PO4 (0.5%) T7 Na2HPO4 (0.5%) T8 Cow urine (10%) T9 Soaking-drying

10

Fruit length (cm)

0 TO T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9

Treatments

Fig. 3 : Effect of pre-sowing treatments on fruit length of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Fig. 3: Effect of pre-sowing treatments on fruit length of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Plate 4: Pre-sowing seed treatment on fruit size of brinjal (Cv. Arka Navneet)
(-1.0 MPa). However, control recorded significantly lower fruit yield (11.25 kg), than all the pre-sowing treatments.

4.2.9 Fruit yield per ha (t)

The results on fruit yield per ha as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 7 and Fig. 4.

Table 7. Effect of pre-sowing seed treatments on fruit yield of brinjal hybrid

Treatments TO Control T1 PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) T2 GA3 (200 ppm) T3 Cytozyme (0.5%) T4 KNO3 (2%) T5 CaCl2 (2%) T6 KH2PO4 (0.5%) T7 Na2HPO4 (0.5%) T8 Cow urine (10%) T9 Soaking drying Mean SEm CD at 5% Fruit yield per plant (g) 450.20 560.34 567.90 562.87 564.23 524.15 518.39 515.95 507.40 511.35 528.30 4.47 13.26 Fruit yield (kg/plot) 11.25 14.01 14.19 14.07 14.11 13.10 12.95 12.89 12.69 12.78 13.20 0.58 1.73 Fruit yield (t/ha)

12.500 15.566 15.766 15.633 15.678 14.555 14.388 14.322 14.099 14.200 14.671 0.648 1.924

700

Fruit yield per plant (g)

Fruit yield (t/ha)

18 16 14

LEGEND T0 : Control T1 : PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) T2 : GA3 (200 ppm) T3 : Cytozyme (0.5%) T4 : KNO3 (2%) T5 : CaCl2 (2%)

600

500 Fruit yield per plant (g) 12 Fruti yield (t/ha) 400 10 8 6 200 4 100 2 0 T0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 Treatments Fig. 4: Effect of pre-sowing treatments on fruit yield per plant and per ha of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet

T6 : KH 2PO4 (0.5%) T7 : Na2HPO4 (0.5%) T8 : Cow urine (10%) T9 : Soaking-drying

300

Fig. 4: Effect of pre-sowing treatments on fruit yield per plant and per ha of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet

The fruit yield per ha also differed significantly due to the pre-sowing treatments. The pre-sowing treatment with GA3 200 ppm was recorded significantly higher fruit yield per ha (15.766 t) followed by KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) which were on par with each other. However, control recorded significantly lower fruit yield per ha (12.5 t) than all the pre-sowing treatments.

4.2.10 Economics of pre-sowing treatments

The data on economics as influenced by pre-sowing treatments are presented in Table 7.1. Among the pre-sowing treatments total income (Rs. 1,57,600/ha), total cost (Rs. 15,638/ha), net returns (Rs. 1,42,022/ha) and B:C ratio (9.08) were higher in pre-sowing treatment of GA3 (200 ppm) which was followed by KNO3 (2%) (Rs. 1,56,780/ha, Rs.15,600/ha, Rs. 1,41,180/ha and 9.05). Cytozyme (0.5%) (Rs. 1,56,330/ha, Rs.15,634/ha, Rs.1,40,696/ha and 8.99) and PEG-6000 (-1.0 MPa) (Rs. 1,55,660/ha, Rs. 15,885/ha, Rs. 1,39,775/ha and 8.79) and lowest values of these (Rs. 12,500/ha, Rs. 15,540/ha, Rs.1,09,460/ha and 7.04) respectively were observed in without pre-sowing treatment of seeds (control). EXPERIMENT II : Effect of seed pelleting and containers on seed quality during storage The results of the present investigation on influence of seed pelleting and storage containers on seed quality of brinjal hybrid under ambient storage condition are presented in this chapter.

4.3

INITIAL SEED QUALITY PARAMETERS

4.3.1 Germination percentage

The data on germination percentage as influenced by seed pelleting treatments are presented in the Table 8 and Fig. 5. Seed pelleting of brinjal hybrid seeds with bavistin (1%) recorded higher germination (98.10%) followed by Albizia amara (97.10%) and lowest germination (90.20%) was recorded in the control (without seed pelleting) though the treatments were statistically non-significant.

4.3.2 Root length (cm)

The result on root length as influenced by seed pelleting treatments are presented in the Table 8. Brinjal hybrid seeds pelleted with bavistin (1%) recorded significantly higher root length (8.00 cm) followed by Albizia amara (7.80 cm). Significantly lower root length (6.00 cm) was observed in the control (without seed pelleting) (Plate 5).

4.3.3 Shoot length (cm)

The data on shoot length as influenced by seed pelleting are presented in Table 8. Seed pelleting of brinjal hybrid seeds with bavistin (1%) registered significantly higher shoot length (6.0 cm) which was on par with Albizia amara (5.85 cm) and significantly lower shoot length (5.0 cm) was observed in the control (without seed pelleting) (Plate 5).

4.3.4 Seedling vigour index

The result on seedling vigour index as influenced by seed pelleting are presented in Table 8 and Fig. 5. Brinjal hybrid seeds pelleted with bavistin (1%) recorded significantly higher seedling vigour index (1373) and it was on par with Albizia amara (1325) and significantly lowest seedling vigour index (992) was observed in the control (without seed pelleting).

4.3.5 Seedling dry weight (mg)

The data on seedling dry weight as influenced by seed pelleting are presented in Table 8. Seed pelleting of brinjal hybrid seeds with bavistin (1%) recorded significantly higher seedling dry weight (494) and significantly lowest seedling dry weight (460) was observed in the control (without seed pelleting).

4.3.6 Speed of germination

The result on speed of germination as influenced by seed pelleting are presented in Table 8. Seed pelleting of brinjal hybrid seeds with bavistin (1%) recorded significantly higher

Table 7.1. Economics of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet as influenced by pre-sowing treatments
Treatments Fruit yield (kg/ha) Rate (Rs./kg) 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Total income/ha (Rs.) (A) 125000 155660 157660 156330 156780 145550 143880 143220 140990 142000 Cost of cultivation (Rs.) 15540 15540 15540 15540 15540 15540 15540 15540 15540 15540 Cost of treatment (Rs.) 0 345 98 94 60 60 60 60 60 50 Total cost (B) Net returns (A B) B: C ratio

TO Control T1 PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) T2 GA3 (200 ppm) T3 Cytozyme (0.5%) T4 KNO3 (2%) T5 CaCl2 (2%) T6 KH2PO4 (0.5%) T7 Na2HPO4 (0.5%) T8 Cow urine (10%) T9 Soaking-drying

12500 15566 15766 15633 15678 14555 14388 14322 14099 14200

15540 15885 15638 15634 15600 15600 15600 15600 15600 15590

109460 139775 142022 140696 141180 129950 128280 127620 125390 126410

7.04 8.79 9.08 8.99 9.05 8.33 8.22 8.18 8.03 8.10

speed of germination (13.99) which was on par with Albizia amara (13.71) and ZnSO4 (13.64) and significantly lowest speed of germination (12.88) was observed in the control (without seed pelleting).

4.3.7 Field emergence (%)

The result of field emergence as influenced by seed pelleting are presented in Table 8. Brinjal hybrid seeds pelleted with bavistin (1%) recorded significantly maximum field emergence (90.00%) ZnSO4 (88.20%), MnSO4 (88.00%) and Albizia amara (89.10%) are on par and significantly minimum field emergence (85.10%) was observed in the control (without seed pelleting).

4.4

SEED QUALITY PARAMETERS AFTER STORAGE

4.4.1 Germination percentage

The results of germination percentage as influenced by seed pelleting, containers and their interaction effects during storage presented in Table 9 and 9.1.

Table 8. Effect of seed pelleting on initial seed quality parameters of brinjal hybrid seeds Cv. Arka Navneet
Treatments Germination (%) Root length (cm) 6.00 Shoot length (cm) 5.00 SVI SDW (mg/10 seedlings) 460 Speed of germination 12.88 Field emergence (%) 85.10 (67.24)* 90.00 (71.57) 88.20 (69.84) 88.00 (69.73) 86.10 (68.05) 89.10 (70.68)

P0 : Control

94.20 (76.06)*

992

P1 : Bavistin (1%) P2 : ZnSO4 (300 mg/kg) P3 : MnSO4 (2%) P4 : DAP 60 g/kg P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg) Mean

98.10 (82.00) 95.70 (78.08) 95.10 (77.23) 94.80 (76.36) 97.10 (78.65)

8.00

6.00

1373

494

13.99

7.18

5.60

1223

489

13.64

7.05

5.50

1194

481

13.56

6.69

5.30

1132

475

13.42

7.80

5.85

1325

491

13.71

95.20 (77.35) 1.65 NS

7.07

5.53

1197

482

13.54

87.80 (69.52) 0.91 2.70

SEm CD at 5%

0.14 0.40

0.13 0.38

24.10 71.60

6.7 20

0.16 0.36

* Figures in the parentheses indicate arc sine transformed values SVI : Seedling vigour index SDW : Seedling dry weight. NS : Non significant.

99

Germination (%)

Seedling vigour index

1600

LEGEND P0 : Control P1 : Bavistin (1%) P2 : ZnSO4 (300 mg) P3 : MnSO4 (2%) P4 : DAP (60 g/kg) P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Alb izzia amara ) (250 g/kg)

98

1400

1200 97 Germination (%) 1000 96 800 95 600 94 400 93 Seedling vigour index

200

92 P0 P1 P2 Treatments Fig. 5: Effect of seed pelleting on initial germination (%) and seedling vigour index of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet P3 P4 P5

Fig. 5: Effect of seed pelleting on initial germination (%) and seedling vigour index of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet

Plate 5: Seed pelleting with chemicals on seedling length of hybrid brinjal (Cv. Arka Navneet)
Germination percentage decreased with the advancement of storage period in all the seed pelleting treatments. It was highest in P1 which recorded 96.70, 95.20, 93.70, 92.20, 89.70 and 85.70 per cent followed by P5 (95.70, 94.20, 92.60, 91.10, 88.10 and 84.70%) and were on par with each other during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage respectively. The lowest germination of 72.00 per cent was noticed in P0 at the end of 12 months of storage (Fig. 6). Germination percentage due to containers differed significantly in all the months of storage period irrespective of the seed pelleting treatments and was found to decline in both the containers with the advancement of storage period as shown in Table 9. Highest germination of 93.60, 92.00, 90.50, 89.10, 86.80 and 82.50 per cent was found in the seeds stored in polythene bag (C2) respectively at the end of 2, 4, 6, 8, 0 and 12 months of storage, while it was minimum of 76.70 per cent in the seeds stored in paper bag (C1) at the end of 12 months of storage (Fig.7). There was significant difference in germination percentage due to interaction of seed treatments (pelleting) and containers during all the months of storage period as shown in Table 9.1 and Fig. 8. The highest germination of 97.30, 95.70, 95.10, 94.10, 92.10 and 88.00 per cent was noticed in P1C2 during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage, respectively, followed by P5C2 which was on par with P1C2 throughout the storage period. The lowest germination per cent was noticed in P0C1 throughout the storage period and recorded about 70.20 per cent at the end of 12 months of storage.

4.4.2 Speed of germination

The data on speed of germination as influenced by seed pelleting treatments, containers and their interaction effects are presented in Table 10 and 10.1. The differences among the seed pelleting treatments on speed of germination was noticed in all the months of storage period. The speed of germination was found to decline with the advancement of storage period in all the seed pelleting treatments as shown in Table 10. Significantly higher speed of germination was noticed in the seeds treated with P1 followed by P5 which were on par with each other throughout the storage period and recorded 12.21 and 11.97, respectively at the end of 12 months of storage period. The lowest speed of germination was noticed in the untreated seeds (P0) throughout the storage period and recorded 10.35 at the end of 12 months of storage.

Table 9. Effect of seed pelleting and containers on germination (%) during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet
Seed pelleting treatments (P) 2 P0 : Control 87.50 (69.30)* P1 : Bavistin (1%) 96.70 (79.56) P2 : ZnSO4 (300 mg/kg) 93.20 (74.80) P3 : MnSO4 (2%) 92.60 (74.20) P4 : DAP 60 g/kg 91.60 (73.10) P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg) S.Em CD at 5% Containers (C) C1 : Paper bag 92.30 (73.98) C2 : Polythene bag 93.60 (75.38) S.Em CD at 5% 0.30 0.85 89.70 (71.27) 92.00 (73.58) 0.61 0.70 87.10 (68.94) 90.50 (73.04) 0.23 0.67 84.60 (66.89) 89.10 (70.68) 0.22 0.63 80.90 (64.11) 86.80 (68.65) 0.20 0.56 76.70 (61.27) 82.50 (65.23) 0.20 0.56 95.70 (76.68) 4 85.10 (67.24) 95.20 (77.32) 91.60 (73.13) 89.50 (71.60) 88.60 (70.21) 94.20 (76.06) Storage period (months) 6 82.60 (65.31) 93.70 (75.45) 90.20 (71.69) 87.60 (69.37) 85.90 (67.96) 92.60 (74.21) 8 80.10 (63.52) 92.20 (73.76) 88.70 (70.31) 85.20 (67.38) 83.60 (6.12 91.10 (73.64) 10 76.60 (61.08) 89.70 (71.25) 86.30 (68.21) 81.90 (64.88) 80.10 (63.46) 88.10 (69.82) 12 72.00 (58.40) 85.70 (67.74) 82.20 (65.03) 77.70 (61.77) 75.70 (60.44) 84.70 (66.97)

0.73 2.08

0.25 1.73

0.60 1.64

0.54 1.64

0.50 1.38

0.50 1.38

* Figures in the parentheses indicate arc sine transformed values.

The significant differences among the containers on speed of germination was noticed throughout the storage period as shown in Table 10. The seeds stored in polythene bag (C2) recorded significantly higher speed of germination (13.31, 13.09, 12.87, 12.66, 12.33

Control
100 90 80

Legend Bavistin (1%) Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg) MnSO4 (2%) DAP (60 g/kg) Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg)
2 4 6 8 10 12

Germination (%)

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Storage period (months)

Fig. 6 : Effect of seed pelleting on germination (%) during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Fig. 6 : Effect of seed pelleting on germination (%) during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Paper bag (C1)

100 90 80

Polythene bag (C2)

Germination (%)

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

10

12

Storage period (months)

Fig. 7 : Effect of containers on germination percentage during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Fig. 7 : Effect of containers on germination percentage during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Table 9.1. Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on germination (%) during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet
Treatments Interaction effect (P x C) P1C1 P2C1 P3C1 P4C1 P5C1 P0C1 P1C2 P2C2 P3C2 P4C2 P5C2 P0C2 Mean 2 95.80 (78.70)* 92.10 (73.65) 92.10 (73.65) 91.10 (72.56) 94.10 (75.94) 87.10 (68.88) 97.30 (80.42) 94.10 (75.94) 93.10 (74.75) 92.10 (73.65) 96.20 (77.24) 88.00 (69.73) 92.80 (74.44) S.Em CD at 5% P0 Control P1 Bavistin (1%) 1.03 2.98 4 94.10 (75.94) 90.00 (71.57) 89.10 (70.65) 87.00 (68.85) 92.10 (73.65) 84.10 (66.45) 95.70 (78.70) 92.50 (74.70) 91.10 (72.56) 90.00 (71.57) 94.10 (75.94) 86.10 (68.04) 90.49 (72.05) 0.86 2.45 Storage period (months) 6 92.10 (73.65) 88.00 (69.73) 86.10 (68.06) 84.10 (66.45) 90.50 (71.57) 80.90 (64.18) 95.10 (77.24) 92.10 (73.65) 89.10 (70.68) 87.70 (69.48) 93.10 (74.75) 84.10 (66.45) 88.60 (70.36) 0.81 2.31 8 90.00 (71.57) 86.10 (68.06) 83.20 (65.75) 80.90 (64.18) 88.00 (69.73) 78.10 (62.04) 94.10 (75.94) 91.10 (72.56) 87.00 (68.85) 86.10 (68.06) 92.10 (73.65) 82.10 (64.99) 86.60 (68.53) 0.77 2.20 10 87.00 (68.85) 83.20 (65.74) 79.20 (62.82) 76.10 (60.68) 85.10 (67.24) 74.10 (59.35) 92.10 (73.65) 89.10 (70.68) 84.70 (66.95) 83.80 (66.25) 91.00 (72.54) 79.20 (62.82) 83.70 (66.19) 0.69 1.96 12 83.20 (65.75) 79.20 (62.82) 75.10 (60.01) 72.10 (58.06) 82.10 (64.97) 70.20 (56.88) 88.00 (69.73) 85.10 (67.24) 80.20 (63.53) 79.20 (62.82) 87.10 (68.95) 75.10 (60.01) 80.00 (63.43) 0.64 1.82

P3 MnSO4 (2%) P4 DAP (60 g/kg)

C1 Paper bag C2 Polythene bag 700 gauge

P2 Zinc sulphate (300 P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia mg/kg) amara) (250 /kg) * Figures in the parentheses indicate arc sine transformed values.

Series1 Series2
100 90 80 Germination (%) 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 P0C1 P1C1 P2C1

Legend P0 : Control P1 : Bavistin (1%) P2 : Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg) P3 : MnSO4 (2%)

C1 : Paper bag C2 : Polythene bag

P3C1

P4C1

P5C1

P0C2

P1C2

P2C2

P3C2

P4C2

P5C2

Fig. 8 : Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on germination (%) during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Fig. 8 : Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on germination (%) during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

and 11.73) while, lower speed of germination (13.14, 12.76, 12.40, 12.04, 11.52 and 10.95) was recorded in the seeds stored in paper bag (C1) respectively during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage. The interaction effects of seed pelleting treatments and containers on speed of germination recoded significant difference during all the months of storage period as shown in Table 10.1. The effect of P1C2 was significantly higher followed by P5C2 and was on par with each other throughout the storage period. Significantly highest speed of germination of 12.57 was noticed in P1C2, while P0C1 recorded 9.99 at the end of 12 months of storage.

Table 10. Effect of seed pelleting and containers on speed of germination during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet
Seed pelleting treatments (P) 2 P0 : Control P1 : Bavistin (1%) P2 : ZnSO4 (300 mg/kg) P3 : MnSO4 (2%) P4 : DAP 60 g/kg P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg) S.Em CD at 5% Containers (C) C1 : Paper bag C2 : Polythene bag S.Em CD at 5% 13.14 13.31 0.03 0.09 12.76 13.09 0.03 0.09 12.40 12.87 0.03 0.09 12.04 12.66 0.04 0.10 11.52 12.33 0.04 0.10 10.95 11.73 0.04 0.10 12.58 13.78 13.28 13.21 13.06 13.49 4 12.13 13.57 13.07 12.85 12.64 13.28 Storage period (months) 6 11.78 13.35 12.85 12.50 12.26 13.07 8 11.42 13.14 12.64 12.14 11.92 12.85 10 10.92 12.78 12.28 11.73 11.36 12.58 12 10.35 12.21 11.71 11.07 10.78 11.97

0.09 0.24

0.08 0.24

0.08 0.24

0.09 0.25

0.09 0.25

0.09 0.25

Table 10.1. Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on speed of germination during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet
Treatments Interaction effect (P x C) P1C1 P2C1 P3C1 P4C1 P5C1 P0C1 P1C2 P2C2 P3C2 P4C2 P5C2 P0C2 Mean S.Em CD at 5% P0 Control P1 Bavistin (1%) P2 Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg) 2 4 Storage period (months) 6 8 10 12

13.71 13.14 13.14 12.99 13.43 12.43 13.86 13.43 13.28 13.14 13.57 12.57 13.22 0.12 0.34

13.43 12.86 12.71 12.43 13.14 11.98 13.71 13.28 12.99 12.86 13.43 12.37 12.92 0.11 0.33

13.14 12.57 12.28 11.99 12.86 11.57 13.57 13.14 12.71 12.53 13.28 11.99 12.64 0.12 0.34

12.86 12.28 11.86 11.57 12.57 11.14 13.43 12.99 12.43 12.28 13.14 11.71 12.35 0.12 0.34

12.43 11.86 11.28 10.86 12.14 10.57 13.14 12.71 12.17 11.86 12.86 11.28 11.93 0.12 0.34

11.86 11.28 10.71 10.28 11.57 9.99 12.57 12.14 11.43 11.28 12.28 10.71 11.34 0.12 0.34

P3 MnSO4 (2%) P4 DAP (60 g/kg) P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 /kg)

C1 Paper bag C2 Polythene bag 700 gauge

4.4.3 Root length (cm)

The data on root length as influenced by seed pelleting treatments, containers and their interaction effects are presented in Table 11 and 11.1. The significant differences among the seed pelleting treatments on root length was noticed in all the months of storage as shown in Table 11. The highest root length was noticed in the seeds treated with P1 followed by P5 and were on par with each other throughout the storage period.

Significantly higher root length of 7.69, 7.42, 7.18, 6.92, 6.65 and 6.06 cm were noticed in P1 while, it was 5.71, 5.42, 5.13, 4.84, 4.55 and 4.25 cm in P0 during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage, respectively. The root length of treated seeds due to containers showed significant differences in all the months of storage period irrespective of seed pelleting treatments as shown in Table 11. Significantly higher root length of 6.82, 6.62, 6.42, 6.21, 6.01 and 5.57 cm was noticed in the seeds stored in polythene bag (C2) while, it was 6.77, 6.48, 6.18, 5.88, 5.59 and 5.25 cm in the seeds stored in paper bag (C1) at the end of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage period, respectively. The interaction effects of seed pelleting treatment and containers on root length recorded significant difference during all the months of storage period as shown in Table 11.1. The effect of P1C2 was significantly higher followed by P5C2 and were on par with each other throughout the storage period. The interaction effect of P1C2 recorded higher root length of 7.80, 7.50, 7.35, 7.15, 6.95 and 6.20 cm while, lesser root length of 5.70, 5.34, 5.02, 4.68, 4.35 and 4.00 cm was noticed in P0C1 during 2,4 ,6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage period, respectively.

Table 11. Effect of seed pelleting and containers on root length (cm) during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet
Storage period (months) Seed pelleting treatments (P) 2 P0 : Control P1 : Bavistin (1%) P2 : ZnSO4 (300 mg/kg) P3 : MnSO4 (2%) P4 : DAP 60 g/kg P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg) S.Em CD at 5% Containers (C) C1 : Paper bag C2 : Polythene bag S.Em CD at 5% 6.77 6.82 0.01 0.03 6.48 6.62 0.01 0.03 6.18 6.42 0.01 0.03 5.88 6.21 0.01 0.03 5.59 6.01 0.02 0.06 5.25 5.57 0.02 0.06 5.71 7.69 6.95 6.83 6.38 7.64 4 5.42 7.42 6.73 6.61 6.11 7.35 6 5.13 7.18 6.50 6.40 5.84 7.15 8 4.84 6.92 6.27 6.18 5.57 6.89 10 4.55 6.65 6.05 5.97 5.30 6.60 12 4.25 6.06 5.78 5.65 4.80 5.95

0.03 0.09

0.03 0.09

0.02 0.06

0.02 0.06

0.04 0.11

0.05 0.16

Table 11.1. Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on root length (cm) during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet
Treatments Interaction effect (P x C) P1C1 P2C1 P3C1 P4C1 P5C1 P0C1 P1C2 P2C2 P3C2 P4C2 P5C2 P0C2 Mean S.Em CD at 5% P0 Control P1 Bavistin (1%) P2 Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg) 2 4 Storage period (months) 6 8 10 12

7.67 6.91 6.90 6.36 7.60 5.70 7.80 6.99 6.86 6.52 7.70 5.72 6.89 0.04 0.11

7.34 6.68 6.55 6.01 7.29 5.34 7.50 6.77 6.67 6.21 7.41 5.50 6.60 0.04 0.11

7.02 6.43 6.30 5.67 6.98 5.02 7.35 6.57 6.49 6.02 7.31 5.25 6.36 0.03 0.09

6.68 6.18 6.05 5.33 6.62 4.68 7.15 6.37 6.31 5.81 7.10 5.00 6.10 0.03 0.09

6.35 5.93 5.80 4.99 6.29 4.35 6.95 6.17 6.13 5.61 6.90 4.75 5.88 0.05 0.15

5.93 5.65 5.50 4.60 5.80 4.00 6.20 5.90 5.80 5.00 6.09 4.50 5.40 0.08 0.22

P3 MnSO4 (2%) P4 DAP (60 g/kg) P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 /kg)

C1 Paper bag C2 Polythene bag 700 gauge

4.4.4 Shoot length (cm)

The data on shoot length as influenced by seed pelleting treatments, containers and their interaction effects are presented in Table 12 and 12.1. Seed pelleting treatments showed significant variation on shoot length throughout the storage period (at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage). Shoot length varied significantly due to seed pelleting treatments at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage. In general, there was linear decrease in the shoot length with the increased storage period.

At the end of 12 months of storage period, significantly higher shoot length was recorded with P1 (4.30 cm) and it was on par with P5 (4.20 cm). The lowest shoot length was with P0 (3.35 cm). Containers showed significant variation with respect to shoot length throughout the storage period. Among the containers, polythene bag (C2) recorded significantly higher shoot length of 5.32, 5.36, 4.85, 4.63, 4.41 and 3.99 cm at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months storage period. At the end of 12 months of storage period C2 recorded (3.99 cm). The lowest was with C1 (3.75 cm). Interaction between seed pelleting treatments and containers showed significant difference with respect to shoot length at all the months of storage period (Table 12.1). At the end of 12 months of storage period the highest shoot length was recorded with P1C2 (4.50 cm) and was on par with P5C2 (4.40 cm). The lowest shoot length was recorded with P0C1` (3.20 cm).

Table 12. Effect of seed pelleting and containers on shoot length (cm) during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet
Seed pelleting treatments (P) 2 P0 : Control P1 : Bavistin (1%) P2 : ZnSO4 (300 mg/kg) P3 : MnSO4 (2%) P4 : DAP 60 g/kg P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg) S.Em CD at 5% Containers (C) C1 : Paper bag C2 : Polythene bag S.Em CD at 5% 5.23 5.32 0.03 0.09 4.94 5.06 0.02 0.06 4.66 4.85 0.01 0.03 4.37 4.63 0.02 0.06 4.12 4.41 0.02 0.06 3.75 3.99 0.02 0.06 4.73 5.72 5.31 5.23 5.14 5.60 4 4.45 5.46 5.11 4.98 4.75 5.37 Storage period (months) 6 4.18 5.20 4.91 4.73 4.48 5.16 8 3.90 4.95 4.71 4.48 4.20 4.85 10 3.63 4.75 4.44 4.23 3.93 4.70 12 3.35 4.30 3.95 3.88 3.66 4.20

0.07 0.20

0.04 0.11

0.03 0.08

0.04 0.11

0.04 0.11

0.05 0.16

Table 12.1. Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on shoot length (cm) during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet
Treatments Interaction effect x C) P1C1 P2C1 P3C1 P4C1 P5C1 P0C1 P1C2 P2C2 P3C2 P4C2 P5C2 P0C2 Mean S.Em CD at 5% P0 Control P1 Bavistin (1%) P2 Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg) (P 2 4 Storage period (months) 6 8 10 12

5.68 5.27 5.22 5.00 5.60 4.70 5.75 5.34 5.24 5.28 5.64 4.75 5.28 0.09 0.37

5.37 5.07 4.92 4.70 5.29 4.40 5.55 5.14 5.04 4.80 5.49 4.50 5.02 0.05 0.15

5.06 4.87 4.62 4.40 4.99 4.10 5.35 4.94 4.84 4.55 5.31 4.25 4.77 0.04 0.11

4.75 4.67 4.32 4.10 4.69 3.80 5.15 4.74 4.64 4.30 5.09 4.00 4.52 0.05 0.15

4.55 4.34 4.02 3.80 4.50 3.50 4.95 4.54 4.44 4.05 4.80 3.75 4.27 0.05 0.15

4.10 3.90 3.80 3.50 4.00 3.20 4.50 4.00 3.95 3.82 4.40 3.50 3.88 0.08 0.22

P3 MnSO4 (2%) P4 DAP (60 g/kg) P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 /kg)

C1 Paper bag C2 Polythene bag 700 gauge

4.4.5 Seedling vigour index

The data on vigour index as influenced by seed pelleting treatments, containers and their interaction effects are presented in Table 13 and 13.1. Significant differences among the seed treatments for vigour index was noticed during all the months of storage period as shown Table 13. Significantly higher vigour index was noticed in P1 was on par with P5 throughout the storage period (Fig. 9). The highest vigour index of 1293, 1224, 1160, 1092, 1021 and 887 was observed in P1 while P0 recorded the lowest vigour index of 913, 839, 768, 699, 626 and 552 during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage period, respectively.

Significant differences among the containers for vigour index was noticed throughout the storage period as shown in Table 13. The higher vigour index of 1133, 1072, 1019, 965, 902 and 790 was noticed in the seeds stored in polythene bag (C2), while the seeds stored in paper bag (C1) recorded 1106, 1023, 945, 869, 787 and 694 during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage period, respectively (Fig. 10). Significant difference in vigour index due to interaction of seed pelleting treatment and container was noticed throughout the storage period. The highest vigour index was noticed in P1C2 which was on par with P5C2 during all the months of storage period as shown in Table 13.1. The highest vigour index of 1304, 1253, 1206, 1156, 1094 and 942 was noticed in P1C2 while, P0C1 recorded lowest vigour index of 902, 818, 738, 661, 581 and 504 during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage period, respectively (Fig. 11).

Table 13. Effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet
Seed pelleting treatments (P) 2 P0 : Control P1 : Bavistin (1%) P2 : ZnSO4 (300 mg/kg) P3 : MnSO4 (2%) P4 : DAP 60 g/kg P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg) S.Em CD at 5% Containers (C) C1 : Paper bag C2 : Polythene bag S.Em CD at 5% 1106 1133 4.53 12.90 1023 1072 4.30 12.22 945 1019 3.20 9.09 869 965 3.74 10.70 787 902 3.98 11.40 694 790 5.52 15.80 913 1293 1139 1115 1054 1267 4 839 1224 1082 1050 961 1198 Storage period (months) 6 768 1160 1026 973 886 1140 8 699 1092 971 906 817 1070 10 626 1021 903 832 735 996 12 552 887 798 739 640 835

11.11 31.70

10.50 29.90

7.81 22.30

9.16 26.24

9.80 27.90

9.60 27.30

Control Bavistin (1%) Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg)

1400

MnSO4 (2%) DAP (60 g/kg) Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg)

1200

Seedling vigour index

1000

800

600

400

200

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Storage period (months) Fig. 9 : Effect of seed pelleting on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Fig. 9 : Effect of seed pelleting on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Paper bag (C1)

1200

Polythene bag (C2)

1000 800

600

400

200

10

12

Storage period (months) Fig. 10 : Effect of containers on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Fig. 10 : Effect of containers on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Table 13.1. Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet
Treatments Interaction effect x C) P1C1 P2C1 P3C1 P4C1 P5C1 P0C1 P1C2 P2C2 P3C2 P4C2 P5C2 P0C2 Mean S.Em CD at 5% P0 Control P1 Bavistin (1%) P2 Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg) (P 2 4 Storage period (months) 6 8 10 12

1281 1122 1105 1033 1242 902 1304 1157 1124 1074 1283 924 1129 16 45

1195 1057 1021 932 1159 818 1253 1108 1079 991 1214 860 1057 15 42

1113 994 939 846 1083 738 1206 1059 1008 927 1175 798 991 11 32

1028 933 860 764 995 661 1156 1010 952 870 1123 738 924 13 37

948 852 776 668 918 581 1094 953 888 802 1065 671 851 14 40

832 755 697 584 794 504 942 842 780 697 914 600 742 13 38

P3 MnSO4 (2%) P4 DAP (60 g/kg) P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 /kg)

C1 Paper bag C2 Polythene bag 700 gauge

4.4.6 Seedling dry weight (mg) The data on seedling dry weight as influenced by seed pelleting treatments, containers and their interaction effects are presented in Table 14 and 14.1. Significant differences among the seed pelleting treatments on seedling dry weight was noticed during all the months of storage period as shown in Table 14. Significantly higher seedling dry weight was recorded in P1 and was on par with P5 throughout the storage period except second month. The highest seedling dry weight of 477, 460, 444, 428, 412 and 395 mg was recorded in P1 while P0 recorded the lowest seedling dry weight of 438, 415, 393, 370, 348 and 325 mg during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage period, respectively.

1400

Legend P0 : Control P1 : Bavistin (1%) P2 : Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg) P3 : MnSO4 (2%)

Series1 Series2

C1 : Paper bag C2 : Polythene bag

1200

Seedling vigour index

1000

800

600

400

200

0 P0C1 P1C1 P2C1 P3C1 P4C1 P5C1 P0C2 P1C2 P2C2 P3C2 P4C2 P5C2

Fig. 11 : Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Fig. 11 : Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling vigour index during storage of brinjal hybrid cv. Arka Navneet

Significant differences among the containers on seedling dry weight was noticed throughout the storage period as shown in Table 14. The higher seedling dry weight of 464, 446, 430, 412, 395 and 377 mg was noticed in the seeds stored in polythene bag (C2), while the seeds stored in paper bag (C1) recorded 461, 441, 422, 402, 383 and 362 mg during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage period, respectively. Significant difference in seedling dry weight due to interaction of seed pelleting treatments and containers was noticed throughout the storage period. Highest seedling dry weight was noticed in P1C2 and was on par with P5C2 during all the months of storage period as shown in Table 14.1. Highest seedling dry weight of 478, 462, 447, 432, 417 and 400 mg was noticed in P1C2 while, P0C1 recorded the lowest seedling dry weight of 435, 410, 385, 360, 335 and 310 mg during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage period, respectively.

Table 14. Effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling dry weight (mg) during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet
Seed pelleting treatments (P) 2 P0 : Control P1 : Bavistin (1%) P2 : ZnSO4 (300 mg/kg) P3 : MnSO4 (2%) P4 : DAP 60 g/kg P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg) S.Em CD at 5% Containers (C) C1 : Paper bag C2 : Polythene bag S.Em CD at 5% 461 464 0.34 0.98 441 446 0.25 0.71 422 430 0.30 0.83 402 412 0.30 0.88 383 395 0.30 0.81 362 377 0.50 1.38 438 477 470 463 454 473 4 415 460 453 446 433 459 Storage period (months) 6 393 444 436 428 412 442 8 370 428 419 411 392 427 10 348 412 402 393 371 411 12 325 395 380 375 350 392

0.84 2.41

0.61 1.74

0.71 2.03

0.70 1.95

0.61 1.75

1.11 3.25

Table 14.1. Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on seedling dry weight (mg) during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet
Treatments Interaction effect x C) P1C1 P2C1 P3C1 P4C1 P5C1 P0C1 P1C2 P2C2 P3C2 P4C2 P5C2 P0C2 Mean S.Em CD at 5% (P 2 4 Storage period (months) 6 8 10 12

476 469 462 452 473 435 478 471 464 455 475 440 463 1.19 3.40

458 451 444 429 456 410 462 454 447 436 460 420 444 0.86 2.50

441 433 426 407 439 385 447 438 430 417 445 400 426 1.01 2.90

424 415 408 385 422 360 432 422 413 398 430 380 407 0.97 2.75

407 397 390 363 405 335 417 406 396 379 416 360 389 0.87 2.50

390 375 370 340 387 310 400 385 380 360 396 340 369 1.57 4.56

P0 Control P1 Bavistin (1%) P2 Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg)

P3 MnSO4 (2%) P4 DAP (60 g/kg) P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 /kg)

C1 Paper bag C2 Polythene bag 700 gauge

4.4.7 Field emergence (%)

The data on field emergence (%)as influenced by seed pelleting treatments, containers and their interaction effects are presented in Table 15 and 15.1. Per cent field emergence also decreased with the advancement of storage period in all the seed pelleting treatments. It was significantly higher field emergence in P1 which recorded 88.60, 87.60, 86.60, 85.60, 83.30 and 76.60 per cent, and was on par with P5 which recorded 87.50, 86.60, 85.60, 84.60, 82.40 and 75.60 per cent during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage, respectively. The lowest field emergence of 62.60 per cent was noticed in P0 at the end of 12 months of storage. Field emergence due to containers also differed significantly in all the months of storage period irrespective of the seed pelleting treatments. It was found to decline in both the containers with the advancement of storage period as shown in Table 15. The highest field emergence of 86.70, 84.90, 83.60, 81.90, 79.50 and 72.00 per cent was found in the seeds stored in polythene bag (C2) at the end of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage. While, it was minimum of 68.80 per cent in the seeds stored in paper bag (C1) at the end of 12 months of storage. There was significant difference in field emergence due to interaction of seed treatments and containers during all the months of storage period as shown in Table 15.1. The highest field emergence of 89.10, 88.00, 87.00, 86.00, 84.10 and 78.00 per cent was noticed in P1C2 during 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage, respectively and was on par with P5C2 throughout the storage period, while the lowest field emergence was noticed in P0C1 throughout the storage period and recorded about 60.00 per cent at the end of 12 months of storage period.

Table 15. Effect of seed pelleting and containers on field emergence per cent during storage of brinjal hybrid Cv. Arka Navneet
Treatments Pelleting materials (P) P0 : Control 2 83.40 (65.96)* P1 : Bavistin (1%) 88.60 (70.19) P2 : ZnSO4 (300 mg/kg) 86.60 (68.45) P3 : MnSO4 (2%) 86.60 (68.45) P4 : DAP 60 g/kg 83.60 (66.06) P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 g/kg) 87.50 4 80.10 (63.50) 87.60 (69.37) 85.70 (67.74) 84.60 (66.85) 81.20 (64.26) 86.60 Storage period (months) 6 81.40 (64.41) 86.60 (68.45) 84.60 (66.85) 82.70 (65.37) 78.60 (62.44) 85.60 8 74.60 (59.71) 85.60 (67.65) 83.60 (66.10) 80.60 (63.85) 76.30 (60.82) 84.60 10 71.40 (57.67) 83.30 (65.84) 80.70 (63.90) 76.20 (60.78) 73.60 (59.04) 82.40 12 62.60 (52.25) 76.60 (61.02) 72.10 (58.08) 69.50 (56.49) 66.50 (54.65) 75.60

(69.27) S.Em CD at 5% Containers (C) C1 : Paper bag 85.50 (67.55) C2 : Polythene bag 86.70 (68.58) S.Em CD at 5% P0 Control P1 Bavistin (1%) P2 Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg) 0.20 0.58 0.58 1.41

(68.54) 0.50 1.40

(67.65) 0.50 1.34

(66.85) 0.50 1.37

(65.14) 0.50 1.38

(60.40) 0.40 1.15

83.70 (66.16) 84.90 (67.18) 0.20 0.65

81.83 (64.68) 83.60 (66.04) 0.20 0.55

80.10 (63.44) 81.90 (64.89) 0.20 0.53

76.60 (61.05) 79.50 (63.05) 0.20 0.53

68.80 (56.03) 72.00 (58.03) 0.20 0.55

P3 MnSO4 (2%) P4 DAP (60 g/kg) P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 /kg)

C1 Paper bag C2 Polythene bag 700 gauge

Figures in the parentheses indicate arc sine transformed values.

Table 15.1. Interaction effect of seed pelleting and containers on field emergence (%) during storage of brinjal hybrids Cv. Arka Navneet
Treatments Interaction effect (P x C) P1C1 P2C1 P3C1 P4C1 P5C1 P0C1 P1C2 P2C2 P3C2 P4C2 P5C2 P0C2 Mean 2 88.00 (69.73)* 86.10 (68.06) 86.10 (68.06) 83.10 (65.67) 87.00 (68.85) 82.10 (64.92) 89.10 (70.65) 87.00 (68.85) 87.00 (68.85) 84.10 (66.44) 88.00 (69.69) 84.70 (66.99) 86.03 (68.03) S.Em CD at 5% P0 Control P1 Bavistin (1%) P2 Zinc sulphate (300 mg/kg) 0.70 2.00 4 87.00 (68.85) 85.10 (67.24) 84.10 (66.45) 80.20 (63.53) 86.10 (68.06) 79.20 (62.82) 88.00 (69.73) 86.10 (68.06) 85.10 (67.24) 82.10 (64.99) 87.00 (68.85) 80.96 (64.18) 84.24 (66.58) 0.69 1.96 Storage period (months) 6 86.10 (68.06) 84.10 (66.45) 82.10 (64.99) 77.10 (61.36) 85.10 (67.24) 75.10 (60.01) 87.00 (68.85) 85.10 (67.24) 83.20 (65.75) 80.20 (63.53) 86.00 (68.06) 79.20 (62.82) 82.53 (65.27) 0.66 1.97 8 85.10 (67.24) 83.20 (65.75) 80.20 (63.53) 74.40 (59.60) 84.10 (66.45) 72.10 (58.06) 86.00 (68.06) 84.10 (66.45) 80.90 (64.18) 78.10 (62.04) 85.10 (67.24) 77.10 (61.36) 81.00 (64.26) 0.64 1.82 10 82.50 (65.24) 79.20 (62.82) 74.10 (59.35) 72.10 (58.06) 80.90 (64.03) 70.80 (56.88) 84.10 (66.45) 82.10 (64.99) 78.10 (62.04) 75.10 (60.01) 83.80 (66.25) 72.40 (58.55) 78.00 (62.03) 0.64 1.83 12 75.10 (60.04) 70.10 (56.79) 69.10 (56.18) 65.10 (53.74) 74.10 (59.41) 60.00 (50.77) 78.00 (62.03) 74.10 (59.35) 70.00 (56.79) 68.10 (55.56) 77.10 (61.41) 65.10 (53.74) 70.50 (57.10) 0.53 1.50

P3 MnSO4 (2%) P4 DAP (60 g/kg) P5 : Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) (250 /kg)

C1 Paper bag C2 Polythene bag 700 gauge

* Figures in the parentheses indicate arc sine transformed values.

V. DISCUSSION
Seed is an important basic and crucial input in agriculture. The two most important aspects in the seed programme are maintaining the continuous supply of high quality seeds to producers, to produce genetically pure seed and to preserve the quality of seeds from harvest to next sowing. It is well established fact that only high quality seed respond better to all inputs and management practices thus maintenance of high quality during storage is of great significance. Therefore, an understanding of how best the seeds can be stored under ambient temperature and relative humidity at relatively low cost, with minimum deterioration in quality for periods extending over one or more season will be of immense importance in the seed industry and for farming community. The need of high quality seed is becoming very essential to achieve optimum plant stand but the maintenance of viability and checking rapid deterioration of seed is posing a serious problem in the seed industry. Loss of vigour and viability of seeds is associated with ageing phenomena and results in poor performance. Seed quality may also differ between cultivars, among and within seed lots. However, proper seed management can improve the variation in the physiological seed quality parameters. In the last three decades, seed priming has become a common seed enhancement treatment to increase the rate of uniformity of emergence under varied field conditions. Heydecker et al. (1973) acknowledged the use of the term priming of seeds. Malnassy (1971) described pre-sowing treatments to enhance germination and increase seedling emergence uniformity under adverse environmental conditions. Since agriculture is season bound, the storage of seed has become inevitable for farmers, seed producers, breeders and seed businessmen. It is quite phenomena that the seed loses its viability and vigour during storage like any other biological material. The loss of seed viability due to seed deterioration is inexorable, irreversible and inevitable but the rate of deterioration could be slow down to a greater extent during storage by manipulating storage conditions or by imposing certain seed pelleting treatments before storage. Keeping this in view, an experiment was conducted to know the influence of presowing seed treatment and seed pelleting on storability in in brinjal (Cv. Arka Navneet).

5.1 EXPERIMENT I : Effect of pre-sowing treatments on seed quality and field performance
In the present study fresh seeds of brinjal hybrid seeds (Cv. Arka Navneet was given pre-sowing treatment with PEG-6000 (-1.0 MPa), (GA3 200 ppm), KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), CaCl2 (2%), KH2PO4 (0.5%), Na2HPO4 (0.5%), cow urine (10%), soaking-drying in addition to various concentration. The treated seeds were evaluated for laboratory and field performance. The results are discussed here under.

5.1.1 Effect of pre-sowing treatments on seed quality parameters

Good seed is the basis for successful crop production programme. The quality seed was ensured with uniform germination, rapid root and shoot development and thus increase in yield per unit area.

5.1.2 Initial seed quality parameters

Among the pre-sowing treatments, seeds of brinjal hybrid (Cv. Arka Navneet) soaked in GA3 200 ppm for 6 hours recorded significantly higher germination percentage, speed of germination, root length, shoot length, seedling vigour index, seedling dry weight, field emergence and lower EC followed by KNO3 (2%), Cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG-6000 (-1.0 MPa).Increase in seed quality parameters may be due to enlarged embryos, higher rate of metabolic activity and respiration, better utilization and mobilization of metabolites to growing points and higher activity of enzymes. GA3 act as -denovo synthesis and also helps in dormancy breaking action. The growth regulator treatments through enzymatic and hormonal mechanism stimulated metabolic processes such as sugar mobilization, protein hydrolysis, oxidation etc. (Jagadish, 1993).

The increase in seedling vigour index and seedling dry weight was due to increased germination percentage, root length and shoot length of seedlings. The lower EC of seed leachate for GA3 treated seeds may be due to beneficial effect of growth regulator in strengthening the cell membrane integrity and permeability (Kurdikeri, 1991). These results are in line with the findings of Jagadish et al. (1994) who also reported the improvement in germination and seedling vigour index of seeds treated with GA3 200 ppm over untreated control in tomato, capsicum and onion. These results are also in agreement with findings of Yogananda et al. (2004) in bell pepper, Nalini (2001) in onion and Kalavathi et al. (1993) in cardamom, Kanaujia et al. (2002) in onion and Solanki and Joshi (1985b) in tomato, who reported the beneficial effects of GA3 as pre-sowing treatments. Similarly the beneficial effects of KNO3 (2%) were attributed to ionic strength and increase in cytochrome oxidase activity. The presence of nitrate in KNO3 provides additional substrate for accelerated ageing and protein synthesis for enhancement of germination during priming and it also helps in membrane repair mechanism (Khan et al., 1978). Similar results of higher quality parameters of seeds treated with KNO3 (2%)were reported by Vanpijlen et al. (1995) in tomato, Jagadish et al. (1994) in tomato, chilli and onion, Gayathri (2001) in tomato, Renugadevi et al. (1994) in bitter gourd Yogananda et al. (2004) in bell pepper.

5.1.3 Effect of pre-sowing treatments on field performance

Plant growth and development is a complex process and is mainly influenced by two factors. The first one is endogenous chemical messengers called hormones, which coordinate the development of different organs as well as plant as a whole. The second factor is comprised of extrinsic factors such as light, water, temperature and gravity which are environmental factors. Thus the final development and behaviour of each individual plant is the result of complex interplay between genetic, hormonal and environmental factors. Besides, the natural phytohormones are involved in the growth and differentiation, axillary bud growth, root elongation, shoot elongation, cell division, flower induction etc. There are several synthetic bio-regulators that regulate the growth and developmental behaviour of plant without inducing phytotoxic or malformative effects. These bio-regulators which when used in appropriate concentration either as presowing treatment or as spray influence the plant architecture in a typical form.

5.1.4 Growth parameters

Pre-sowing treatments significantly influenced the growth parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, number of branches and days to 50 per cent flowering. All the pre-sowing treatments recorded significantly higher growth parameters over control. Among the pre-sowing treatments, GA3 200 ppm recorded significantly higher plant height (148 cm), number of leaves (107.26) and number of branches (52.93) at harvest stage followed by KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG-6000 (-1.0 MPa). The results are in agreement with Omran et al. (1980) in okra, Jagadish (1993) in tomato and chilli and Nalini et al. (2001) in onion. The increased plant height, number of leaves and number of branches may be due to cell division, cell number due to multiplication in various plant tissue, auxin metabolism, cell wall plasticity and permeability of cell membrane, RNA synthesis, increasing photosynthates, cell enlargement and rapid cell elongation (Sadavarthe and Gupta, 1963).

5.1.5 Yield parameters

Yield parameters also significantly influenced by pre-sowing treatments. Among the fruit yield attributes, fruit length, fruit girth and fruit yield per plant seem to be the important components closely related with fruit yield per ha. The fruit yield per ha found significantly higher in GA3 200 ppm (15.76 t) followed by KNO3 (15.68 t), cytozyme (15.63 t) and PEG-6000 (15.56 t).

The similar results of higher fruit yield due to pre-sowing treatment with GA3 200 ppm were reported by Jagadish (1993) in tomato, chilli, and onion and Nalini et al. (2001) in onion. In the present study increase in the fruit yield can be attributed to increased yield attributing characters such as fruit length, fruit girth and fruit yield per plant. These results are in accordance with the findings of Hore et al. (1988) and Vanangamudi et al. (1988) in onion, Saxena et al. (1987) in tomato, Solanki and Joshi (1985a) in capsicum and Jagadish (1993) in tomato, chilli and onion. The higher fruit yield in pre-sowing treatment with GA3 200 ppm may be ascribed to the fact that the plants remained physiologically more active, source to sink relationship in the plant parts and build up sufficient food reserves for developing flowers and fruits. Thus the plants that gave higher fruit yield resulted in higher fruit yield per unit area (Veerabhadra, 2002).

5.1.6 Economics
Pre-sowing treatment GA3 (200 ppm) recoded higher B:C ratio (9.08) because fruit yield (kg/ha), total income (Rs.1,57,660/ha), total cost (Rs.15,638/ha), net returns (Rs.1,42,022/ha) are more and lowest B:C ratio (7.04) was observed in control.

5.2 EXPERIMENT II : Effect of seed pelleting and containers on brinjal seed quality during storage
The brinjal seeds after pelleting with chemicals and botanicals were stored in paper bag and polythene bag for 12 months under ambient condition of Dharwad (Zone-8) during August 2004 to July, 2005. The bimonthly observations on germination percentage, speed of germination, root length, shoot length, seedling vigour index, seedling dry weight, field emergence were taken and the results obtained are discussed in this chapter.

5.2.1 Seed pelleting treatment on storability

During storage, viability and vigour are lost due to many biotic factors like storage pest and other microflora. The insect pest and fungi cause considerable damage and are responsible for deterioration and reduction in storage potential of seed. So, seed treatment with suitable chemicals and botanicals will reduce the quantitative and qualitative loss besides maintaining quality of the seed for longer period. In the present study, seed pelleting with fungicide, chemical and botanical had a significant effect on germination. Seeds treated with bavistin gave significantly higher germination throughout the storage period followed by seeds treated with arappu leaf powder, MnSO4, ZnSO4, DAP over control. The probable reasons for the differences in storability of seeds treated with different chemicals and botanicals may be due to the variation in effectiveness of these chemicals and botanicals in combating the seed borne pathogens and also may be due to the persistence of these chemicals on seed in storage for longer time and might have reduced the germination. The seed pelleting with bavistin was found to preserve the quality of seed by its antifungal effect. Bavistin also protect the seed from fungal and insect attack finally contributing to seed quality parameters (Taylor and Eckenrode, 1993). Similar findings are reported by Jayaraj et al. (1988) in capsicum, Gupta and Dharamsingh (1990) in vegetable mung and cowpea seeds for bavistin and thiram. Anuja Gutpa et al. (1994) in chilli for thiram and bavistin, Raju and Sivaprakasam (1994) in cabbage and Ramanathan and Sivaprakasam (1994) in chilli for bavistin and thiram. Beneficial effects for arappu leaf powder may be due to the presence of certain bioactive principles which might synergistically interact with aminoacids especially tryptophan to form the indole acetic acid (IAA) in germinating seeds to bring about enhancement in seedling growth (Krishnasamy and Basaria Begam, 2003).

Increased seed quality parameters may be due to the physiologically active substances present in the arappu leaf powder which might have activated the embryo and other associated structure leading to development of stronger and efficient root system and higher vigour index (Ahmed Raza, 1997). Similar results upholding the beneficial effects of botanicals were reported by Vasantha (1995) in redgram, Nargis (1992) in tomato, Renugadevi (1995) in ash gourd, Ahmed Raza (1997) in onion. However, a decline in per cent germination was observed in all the treatments with advance in storage period, which may be attributed to phenomenon of ageing, depletion of food reserves, decline in synthetic activity and degradation of seed coat which resulted in leaching of its constituents as reported by Chandrasenan (1996) in chilli and Joeraj (2000) in sunflower. Among the seed pelleting treatments, bavistin followed by arappu leaf powder recorded significantly higher root length, shoot length, seedling vigour index and seedling dry weight during the storage period. This may be due to the control of physiological deterioration of seeds by their antifungal and antioxidant effects, increased enzymatic activity, efficient translocation of the nutrients from the seed into the initially heterotropic seedling. Similar findings were also reported by Vijayakumar et al. (1991) in onion and Sharanamma (2002) in chilli. With respect to storage periods, the germination, root length, shoot length, seedling vigour index, seedling dry weight decreased as the storage period increased. This may be due to damage to membranal enzyme, proteins and nucleic acids and such degenerative changes resulted in the complete disorganization of membranes and cell organelles (Roberts, 1972). The seed pelleting treatments had significant effect on vigour during all the months of storage period. The seeds treated with bavistin gave higher vigour followed by arappu leaf powder due to their contact and specific nature of action against a wide variety of fungi infecting brinjal during storage. Loss of vigour index in terms of germination, root length, shoot length, seedling dry weight in okra was observed by Doijode (1986) during storage. In this study, micronutrients (ZnSO4, MnSO4, DAP) were found effective against control (without seed pelleting) but ineffective against bavistin, arappu leaf powder because micronutrients do not have antifungal action, use of higher dose of micronutrients causes toxic effect on the seed quality. Micronutrients are not helpful in enhancing storage life of the seed, but helpful in plant establishment in the field (Krishnasamy and Basaria Begam, 2003). Among the different months of storage, initial months recorded higher vigour index compared to the last months of storage. Doijode (1993) reported that seed storability and seedling vigour are related to storage period in onion.

5.2.2 Containers on storability

The most important factor that determine the longevity of seeds in storage are moisture content of seed, temperature and relative humidity. As the seed being hygroscopic in nature, it exhibits fluctuation in seed moisture content due to changes in the atmospheric relative humidity and temperature. So it is essential to preserve the seeds in suitable moisture proof containers which eliminates dampness, deterioration, micro-organisms and enhance the seed longevity. In the present study, germination percentage, root length, shoot length, vigour index, seedling dry weight, field emergence and speed of germination were declined progressively with increase in the storage period in the seeds stored in both the containers (paper bag and polythene bag). Significantly higher values for germination, root length, shoot length, vigour index and seedling dry weight were recorded in the seeds stored in polythene bag while, the seeds stored in paper bag recorded lower values which may be attributed to a larger fluctuation in moisture content leading to a faster rate of deterioration in the seeds stored in paper bag. These results are in conformity with the reports of Karivaratharaju et al. (1987) in brinjal, Elizabeth and Warham (1986) in onion, Palanisamy and Vanagamudi (1987) in okra and Doijode (1997a) and (1997c) in okra and tomato.

5.2.3 Interaction of seed pelleting treatment and containers on storability

Among the seed pelleting treatments and containers, seeds treated with different chemicals and stored in polythene bag gave better seed quality parameters as compared to those stored in paper bag during all the months of storage period. The seeds treated with bavistin, zinc sulphate, manganese sulphate, diammonium phosphate, arappu leaf powder and stored in polythene bag recorded better quality parameters. Among the six treatments, seed pelleting with bavistin and stored in polythene bag recorded significantly higher germination percentage, speed of germination, root length, shoot length, vigour index, seedling dry weight, field emergence than those seeds treated and stored in paper bag. Better results obtained in the seeds pelleted with bavistin and stored in polythene bag might be due to antifungal effect of bavistin and impervious nature of polythene bag which caused less oxygen supply and death of pathogens. These results are in conformity with the findings of Vanangamudi et al. (1986) in field bean and Jacqueline and Selvaraj (1988) in brinjal, Jayaraj et al. (1988) in capsicum and Sharanamma (2002) in capsicum.

Practical utility of results

1. Pre-soaking of brinjal seeds in GA3 200 ppm for 6 hours found effective in achieving higher initial seed quality parameters, growth and finally fruit yield. 2. Among the pelleting chemicals tested, Bavistin @ 1 g per kg of seed found to be persistent in maintaining the better quality of brinjal seed for longer period 3. Among the other pelleting tested, Arappu leaf powder is found more effective in maintaining the satisfactory viability and vigour of brinjal seed during entire storage period of 12 months. 4. Seeds pelleted with bavistin (1%) and stored in polythene bag effective in achieving higher seed quality parameters. (700 guage) found

5. Polythene bag (700 guage) is proved to be a better storage container than the paper bag in preserving seed quality of brinjal effectively during storage period of 12 months.

Future line of work

1. 2. Standardization of soaking hours of promising pre-sowing chemicals of present study may be initiated. Practically handling of invigorated seeds is somewhat difficult, so use of organic solvent instead of water, for infusion of organic chemicals and their influence on seed quality may be taken up. Seed priming by incorporating beneficial organisms such as fungi, bacteria and other bio-active chemicals shall be looked into the improve the sowing quality, growth performance and subsequent storability of seeds. The effect of seed pelleting treatment with different chemicals and botanicals individually or in combination with different concentrations on storability of brinjal seeds may be studied. Combination of pre-soaking and spraying of promising pre-sowing chemicals of present study (GA3, cytozyme, KNO3 and PEG-6000) may be takenup. The same study can also be continued for longer period, beyond 12 months and tested for field performance along with laboratory tests.

3.

4.

5. 6.

VI. SUMMARY
Seed comprises an essential component of agricultural strategy and quality seed would act as catalyst for realizing the potential of all other inputs. Seed quality is influenced by several biotic and abiotic factors. Pre-sowing treatments are necessary to enhance germination and increase the uniformity in seedling emergence under adverse environmental conditions. Seed pelleting is claimed to play vital role in modern agriculture for precision planting and to supplement nutrition through seed for uniform and vigorous seedling growth and safe guarding the storage life of seed. Taking these points into consideration an investigation was carried out with the objective of studying the effect of different pre-sowing treatments on seed quality and field performance and effect of seed pelleting and storage containers on seed quality during storage.

6.1 Experiment I : Effect of pre-sowing treatments on seed quality and field performance
A field experiment was conducted in the Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during rabi 2004. The experiment consisted of ten seed treatments viz., PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) (T1), GA3 200 ppm (T2), cytozyme (0.5%) (T3), KNO3 (2%) (T4), CaCl2 (2%) (T5), KH2PO4 (0.5%) (T6), Na2HPO4 (0.5%) (T7), cow urine (10%) (T8), soaking drying of seeds (T9) and untreated control (T0). The observations were recorded for initial seed quality parameters and growth parameters viz., plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, days to 50 per cent flowering, fruit girth, length number and fruit weight per plant and per ha. Among the pre-sowing treatments GA3 200 ppm recorded higher initial seed quality parameters such as germination percentage, speed of germination, root length, shoot length, seedling vigour index, seedling dry matter, field emergence and were on par with KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG 6000 (1.0 MPa). Similarly GA3 @ 200 ppm recorded maximum growth parameters such as plant height at all growth stages. Pre-sowing treatments, KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG 600 (-1.0 MPa) recorded on par plant height with GA3 200 ppm. Lowest plant height was recorded in control. GA3 200 ppm recorded maximum number of leaves per plant at all the growth stages. Pre-sowing treatments such as KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) recorded on par number of leaves per plant with GA3 @ 200 ppm. The number of leaves per plant was lowest in control. The number of branches per plant was highest in GA3 @ 200 ppm, while KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) were on par with GA3 @ 200 ppm and lowest number of branches per plant were recorded with control. Pre-sowing treatment with GA3 @ 200 ppm, KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%), and PEG 600 (-1.0 MPa) took less number of (days to 50% flowering) as compared to other pre-sowing treatments, while, control took more time for 50 per ent flowering. Fresh fruit yield per plant was maximum with GA3 @ 200 ppm followed by KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa) which were on par with each other. However, it was lowest in control. The length and girth of fruit was maximum with GA3 200 ppm and was on par with KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa). However, length and girth of fruit was least in control. Fruit yield was maximum with pre-sowing treatment with GA3 @ 200 ppm followed by KNO3 (2%), cytozyme (0.5%) and PEG 6000 (-1.0 MPa). However, fruit yield was least in control.

6.2 Experiment II : Influence on seed pelleting and containers on seed quality during storage
Storage experiment was conducted with brinjal hybrid seeds in the Department of Seed Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad from August 2004 to July 2005. The experiment consisted of six treatments viz., Bavistin (P1), ZnSO4 (P2), MnSO4 (P3), DAP (P4), Arappu leaf powder (P5) and untreated control (P0) as one factor and two storage containers viz., paper bag (C1) and polythene bag (C2) as another factor. Seed samples were pelleted and packed in different containers and stored under ambient conditions of Dharwad for 12 months. The samples were drawn at bimonthly intervals for assessing the seed quality parameters viz., germination percentage, root length, shoot length, seedling vigour index, speed of germination, seedling dry weight and field emergence. Among the seed pelleting treatments bavistin (P1) followed by arappu leaf powder (P5) recorded minimum quantitative losses with better seed quality parameters throughout the storage period. Seed pelleted with bavistin recorded highest germination percentage throughout the storage period. Seeds pelleted with arappu leaf powder (P5) performed better throughout the storage period by recording better seed quality parameters with minimum quantitative losses. The seeds stored in polythene bag (700 gauge) maintained better seed quality parameters with less quantitative losses in comparison to those seeds stored in paper bag throughout the storage period. In the interaction effect of seed pelleting treatments and containers, seed pelleted with different chemicals and stored in polythene bag recorded higher values for all the positive quality parameters with less quantitative losses when compared to pelleted seeds stored in paper bag throughout the storage period. The interaction effect of seeds pelleted with bavistin and stored in polythene bag followed by arappu leaf powder and stored in polythene bag recorded higher values for all the positive quality parameters when compared to other interaction effects throughout the storage period.

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Appendix I. Prices of inputs and outputs Sl. No. INPUTS A. 1. B. 1. 2. 3. 4. C. Seeds Brinjal (Cv. Arka Navneet) Fertilizers Urea DAP SSP MOP Chemicals PEG 6000 GA3 Cytozyme KNO3 CaCl2 KH2PO4 Na2HPO4 Cow urine D. Labour Man Woman Bullock pairs E. Plant protection chemicals Carbaryl OUTPUTS Brinjal fruits Rs. 10/kg Rs.360/kg Rs.45/day of 8 hrs Rs.35/day of 8 hrs Rs. 200/day of 8 hrs Rs. 250/500 g Rs. 120/1 g Rs. 440/l Rs. 115/500 g Rs. 120/500 g Rs. 200/500 g Rs. 105/500 g Rs.470/q Rs.960/q Rs.460/q Rs.490/q Rs.100/10 g Particulars Price

INFLUENCE OF PRE-SOWING SEED TREATMENT AND SEED PELLETING ON STORABILITY IN BRINJAL (Solanum melongena L.)
SATISHKUMAR 2005
ABSTRACT
A field experiment was conducted at Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during rabi, 2004 and a laboratory experiment was conducted in the Department of Seed Science and Technology to study the effect of different pre-sowing treatments on seed quality and field performance and seed pelleting and storage containers on seed quality parameters in brinjal during storage. The field and laboratory experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design and completely randomized design with factorial concept, respectively. All pre-sowing treatments recorded significantly higher seed quality, growth and yield parameters over control. However, GA3(200ppm) recorded significantly higher fruit yield(15.76t/ha) than the other pre-sowing treatments except KNO3 (2%), cytozyme(0.5%) and PEG 6000(-1.0MPa). Similarly initial seed quality, growth and yield components were significantly higher in GA3(200ppm) whereas control recorded significantly lower seed quality, growth and yield parameters. The seed pelleting treatments and storage containers differed significantly with regard to seed quality parameters through out the storage period under ambient condition over control. Among the seed pelleting treatments, bavistin(1%) recorded significantly higher germination percentage (85.70) and seedling vigour index(887) than the other treatments (ZnSO4, MnSO4, DAP and Control) followed by arappu leaf powder(250g/kg) at the end of 12months of storage period. Among the containers polythene bag 700gauge recorded significantly higher germination(82.50%), vigour index(790) than the paper bag at the end of 12months of storage period. The interaction effect of seed pelleting treatments and storage containers differed significantly with respect to seed quality parameters through out the storage period. However, seed pelleting with bavistin(1%) stored in polythene bag 700gauge recorded significantly higher germination(88.00%) and vigour index(942) followed by seed pelleting with arappu leaf powder(250g/kg) stored in polythene bag, while untreated control seeds stored in paper bag recorded lower germination(70.20%) and vigour index(504) at the end of 12months of storage period.

Dr. BASAVE GOWDA Major Advisor