Kattimani, K. N., Rcddy. Y. N. and Rajeswar Rao, B. (t999). Seed Sci. & Tcchhol..

27,483,488

Effect of pre-sowing seed treatment on germination, seedling

emergence, seedling vigour and root yield of Ashwagandha
(Wt h ania s omnifera Daunal.)
K. N.

KATTIMANIT. Y. N. REDDYT and

B.

RAJES\VAR RAO:

Professor and Head, Department ofHorticukure and Principal, College olAgriculture. Angrau,
Raiendranagar, Hyderabad
Senior Scientisi, Central Institute ofMedicinal and Aromatic Planrs, Field Starion, Boduppal, Hydcrabad

(Accepted O(tobet I 998)

Summary
A field experiment was conducted at the College ofAg cultule, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to study the effect
ofpre-sowing seed treatments on seed vigour, root length and dry root yield ofAshwagandha under tlte agloclimatic condiiions of Andhra Pradesh. Seedling vigour revealed that seeds soakcd with nitrates of sodium
and potassium at 1.0% for 24 h produced more vigourorLs seedlings, higher drymatter accumulation and root
length as compared to unsoaked and water soaked seeds. Unsoaked seeds recorded mlnimum root length
throughout the different stages ofcrop growth except l5 days after sowing. Seeds soaked with nitrate of sodium and potassium at 1.0% recorded maximum dry roor yield of3.93 and 3.43 g/plant respectively.

Introduction
Ashwagandha (Withania somniJbra Daunal) is an important medicinal plant cultivated
in north-westem region of Madhya Pradesh or about 4000 ha (Nigam, 1984). Ashwagandha roots and occasionally its leaf and seed are used in ayuruedic and unani medicines. Roots are prescribed for hiccup, female disorder, bronchites, rheumatism and
dropsy. It is also prescribed for curing general sexual weakness in humans. Warm
leaves are used for providing comfort during eye diseases. Pharmoecological activity is
due to the presence ofseveral alkaloids in roots.
Pre-sowing soaking of seeds in mineral solution is repofied to hasten seed germination in several cultivated plants (Singh and Singh, 1973). Increase ofseedling length in
pumpkin, improvemel]t in vegetative growth and dr],rnatter production and hnal yield
in carrot (Alekseeva and Rasskazov, 1976).
For better establishment of this medicinal plants under normal conditions, the common practice is to sow the seeds directly in the field. Under such conditions there is
need for a reliable method of germinating the seeds quickly and to increase the root
length, since the root is the primary source of alkaloid. Though many pre-sowing
treatments are known to improve seed germination in general, not many of them were
utilized for improving germination and to increase root length in this crop. Information is available on its medicinal uses and its constituents but no information is avail483

K, N, KATIIMANI. Y. N, REDDY AND

RAIESWAR RAO

able regarding pre-soakinp of seeds in mineral

solulion and therr impacts on roor
length and dry root yieldl Some-of the pr"_rorirg'.ir"urri"itr'
huu" in"."ur"d ,oot
growth in.orher crops. Hence. studies *ere
,"aar"E,

seed soaking

with

din"..ri

""'ir,t..".,
-ir*J."rt. ""a,irir'*0""'i;il:',H:[
;:ffi

ofAshwagandha.

i,lftli

Materials and methods

seeds of Ashwagan dha (Irithania-somnifera)
var.,Jawahar-20, were soaked in 0.5 and
1.0% solutions each of nitmtes of potas;iunr,
calcium and
zinc. The treatmnt consisted ol soaking f", "._orir_,
"o'U"fiiodium,
Z+ f, i, *,p*t"J
rr"""
solutions
fol_
lowed by air drying of seeds to remove the
.urfuce moistui" ,naer ian fO.5 h) at an ambient temperature

ranging from 25.5"C to 27.s.C.

t;";;;

seed were included in the experiment for

comparison.
Alier treating, 100 seed from each treatme-nt were
sown

::l:-'::1r:r

;;#;,,utlii'r;ii-1

in field at a spacing of30 x

hi[ ) at a depth of 1.0 ._ u,J .ou..J *i"tr,' iigl,t
.oir. n.om tt

,19.::
udy
or sowrng up to comprele germination ofseeds.
warering was done lwice a week"
tlrrh a rose can. subseouenllv hv lurrou irrigation
wirh

fZ_iSJ"r, rnter\al depend_

il';;immended cultural
experimental plot
was red sandy loam. The treatments (14) weie"r"p.1fr.-."ii "iifr"
."pf i.""J i"r. ,_"s in a randomized
block design. Sowing of seeds was done in
the n*, *""t
1996 (late
khari0 at the Department ofHorticulture, College
oi;;ri:;j,; "i'argust,
Rajendranagar,
ing upon the soir moisture ;.d *..,h;.^;;;;ffi;:;,i
practices were adopted for raising the
healthy

Hy_

Germination counts were recorded every day

lrom 7 to 14 days after sowing, till the
completety c.eased. Appearanc" oiprr_ri"
lii'r",iken a, trr" c.iterio,
f^.,Tj:r]:i,i:-,
ror germrnatro[ and exDressed in percentage.
The number of<Iays taken for appearance
of seedrings in each treatmenr
ilrs taken ror com_
mencement of germination.
Field emergence rate index similar to the gennination
rate index was calculated by di_
viding the number of normal seear;ngs er;erseJ
on which they
afrer sowing. Vigour.index - r"Ioor tergrh
r.*i
i."g,r,l, x percenl ger_
mrnatron.u

*;" ;;:i;;;;';;;il;#:;

::l:.::r""das also ca lcu lared

i;

Dh indwa I et

From the experiment laid out lor testirrg

al.. l99l

;;; ;;;"';r,
I

).

g"i_iruiior, five seedlings were selected

at
the end of germination at random r.o-""i"t
t.*t_.;;;';;;;;d"
,".,
length
were
measured on t5th, 30th, 45th, 60th, 75th
days uft", .o*i; 0;;;; and at harvest
of
crop (1 10 DAS1. The shoot lensth was measured
from
tfr.
growing
tip,
,0. roor length was mea"sured rro- tr,e
"offuir"gionio
,eg;
;;"#;;p of rhe primary
;1:11"
"otra.

Total dry matter accumulation was^recorded

at haryesr ofthe crop (g/plant), by drying
the whole plant in a hot air over at 80.C
for 4g fr. at", .o^pltiflidrying, the shoot
and root were separated and dry weight
of ,fr"

,oor*rrl..o."a.IGb;nt).

484

AGANDIIA IWITI]ANIA SOMNIFERA DA1JNAI-

Results and discussion

Seed soaking in sodium nitrate 1.0% solution for 24 h signifrcantly reduced the number

ol days taken for gemination (9 days), enhanced the germination percentage (92.13),
gemination rate index (28.74) and vigour index (670.73) compared to other pre-sowing
seed treatments (Table 1). Without any soaking treatment (seeds sown as such) took
more number of days lor germination (13.67) followed by seeds soaked in water
(12.00). The less number of days taken by seed treatment with sodium nitrate 1.0%
might be due to altered physiological condidion of the embryo. It may be also due to
liberation of enzymes, thus rapidly increasing in the production of soluble food nutrients, the whole system is already in motion so that when the seeds are sown developmental processes go on more rapidly than in case of unsoaked seeds. The germination
percentage was significantly lower when seeds were sown as such (25.73) followed by
seed soaked in water (27.93). Similar effect of water soaked seeds of fennel increased
the germination 2 3 times more than unsoaked seeds (Patel and Jaisani, 1964). Germination rate index (8.58), vigour index (102.24) were significantly low when the seeds
were sown as such without any soaking treatment (Table 1).
The shoot and root length with different pre-sowing treahnents are presented in Table
2. Significant differences were observed due to the influence ofvarious seed treatments.
Soaking ofseed with sodium nitrate and calcium nitrate solutions at 1.0% significantly
increased the shoot length (2.54 cm) followed by zinc nitate l.lyo (2.52 cm) at l5 days
after sowing (DAS). The root length was significantly increased by sodium nitrate at
1.0% (4.74 cm) followed by zinc nitrate at 1.0% (4.14 cm). The minimum shoot and
Tabie

1. Mean values

olseed vigour tests wlth different pre-sowing treatmerts in Ashwagandha.

Numberofdays
iaken lor germi-

Germination

Vigour
index

("/,\

Germination
rate index

27.93
57.20
67.81

12.23

104.98

18.30
20.58
23.19

229.56
391.24
265.15
400.12

19.5 8

314.l6

18.'72

301.12

nation (days)

Water
Potassium
Potassium

0.5%
nilmte 1.0%
niEate

Ammoniumnitrate0.5%

1.0%
0.5Vo
Cobalt nirrale
cobaltnitmte L0%
Sodium nitrate 0.5%
Sodium nitrate 1.0%
Calcium nitrate 0.5%
Calcium nitraie 1.0Yo
Zinc nitrate
0.5%
Zinc nitrate
1.0Yo
Seed sown as such (contrcl)
Ammonium nitrate

S.Em.+
CD at 5%

12.00
10.00
10.00
11.00
11.00
11.00
11.00

9.33
9.00
10.67
11.00
11.00
11.00
13.67

0.146
0.425

50.31
78.7 7
61.,10

56.07
67.97

92.t3

t6.52

20.68
28.74

366.s]

56.,10

17.15

61.70

21.04

E3.13

25.81
17.23

670.73
380.80
369.64
509.06
312.04

8.58

102.24

55.47
25.73
3.261
g 491

0.29s
0.858

5.105

14.814

485

K. N, KATTIMANl. Y. N, REDDY AND B. RAIESWAR RAO

--*o*.\
@-odo@
o a - ^; d dj -r - dj

6O
=3
d^i

;
5
5

onN
---o-o
ooo<ro6
nqe!ac!-:
s r 6 o - o - di + - dj d, dj ;

3?
od
cjd

o
oz
ii6

son
o^-c-{
+ d si r .o r r: d o' s d o <i .j
@r-<i-osoo-^o+-q -,.t tr.
r|cqn.t".1
1o9
109!

33
-"
g:
oF

oqo

SX
jd

o.j

d o'

.z -i nc;++;;r-i
;
.i

..^^o-i

--

--6N-{

sr*=

5h*or-r-od .--.--

N-r
o o o 4 .j ; i -r ; + -j -j -j o

a3
-+
id

5 -s.

6i;

-.---^
r__oo

di + di di -i di ri +;

.;;

o
-

cj d

B .+-+--=.39
n o e ': 4 ': n q a ^ o9 n 09 dd
= o6$ ^l
c7)

.
E

6 .o*n
e. -: ^i; -i ^j n; _i.+ s ^i .:r n r
i o-o

,roeq!Q"1

486

caQ-cE

:. !'='=

" ":!:!2'EiFF;EiE,:E.""
dE3rtt,==ctr=:F

t
.i
3
F

{6;E!6E33CG.=.=tl
>o.o-<<(Joaa(J(JNNa

+6s
J,]a

PRE SOWINC SEED TRLATMINT OF ASIIWAGANDHA

(WITH NIA SOMNIfERA D UNAI

root length was recorded when seed was soaked with water (0.97 cm and 1.66 cm

re_

spectively) at 15 DAS.
Soaking seeds with sodium nitmte resulted in significantly higher root length and
shoot lengts in all the treatments at 15, 30, 45, 60,15 DAS and at harvest, while seed
treated with potassium nitrate at 1.0% resulted in 6.20 cm, 9.32 cm, 10.2j cm and 13.j3
cm root length at 45, 60, 75 and at harvest ofthe crop respectively (Table 2). Therefore,
it is concluded that the soaking of seeds with nitrates of sodium and potassium at 1.0%
increased the root length of Ashwagandha. The increase in root length due to various
treatments can be due to the beneficial effect in uniform germination, due to intensified
hydrolytic process, better uptake of nutdents and soil moisture, imparting stimulation
for better establishment of seedling. Similar benehcial physiological and biochemical
effects of pre-sowing seed treatments with mineral solutions and nutrient solution at
various concentrations were also observed with cotton by Kuradikeri and Kuradikeri
(1988) and with com by Kid and West (1919).
The increase in total dry ntatter accumulation per plant was signihcantly influenced
by seed soaking treatments (Table 3). The seeds soaked with nitrates ol sodium and
potassium at 1.0% have beneficial effect on dry matter accumulation of 13.86 g and
I 1.92 g respectively. The minimum dry rnatter accumulation was recorded with seeds
sown without any soaking treatment (8.19 g). The dry root yield increased significantly
due to the influence of various pre-sowing treatments. Soaking seeds with nitrates of
sodium and potassium at 1.002 resulted ir maximum root yield of3.93 g and 3.43 g respectiyely. The minimum dry root yield was recorded in seeds sown without any soakTable 3. Effect ofpre-sowing seed reatmenrs on dry mafter accumulatjon (g/planr) and root yield (g/planr) at
harvest olAshwagandha.

Treatments

Total dry matter

accumulatiol (shoot +

Dry root yield (g/planl)

rcot) (g/plant)

Potassilrmnirrate 0.5%
Potassiumnitrate l.0o/r
Ammonium nitrate 0.5%

L31

2.t6

10.56

l.9t

3.23
3.43

11.31

2.t6

Ammoniumnitrate l-0%

Cobalt nitrate
Cobalt nitrate
Sodium nitrate
Sodium nirrate
Calcium nitrate

0.5%

Calciun nitrate
Zinc nitrate
Zinc nirr e

0.5yo
1.0%

9.96

0.5%

11.91

1.0%

11.71

0.5%
1.0%
1.0o/.

Seed sown as such (control)

S.Em.+

CD at 5%

9.63
3.86
t1.47
9.86

2.13
2.70
2.76

3 t0

9.89
8.19

3.93
3.30
2.93
2.80
2.70
2.13

0.976
2.839

0.056
0.156

11.39

487

K.

N KATTIMANl.

Y. N, RIDDY AND B. RA]ESWAR RAO

ing treatment and after sowing with ammonium nitrate at 1.0% (2.13 g). The increase in
root yield may be attdbuted to the fact that sodium and potassium are involved in maintaining the tone, vigour and efficiency of the plant. Hence, sodium and potassium may
be playing a critical role in increasing the physiological efficiency olplant parts rather
than the plant morphology as observed with potato by Bhargava and Banerjee (1994).
Similar report of soakilg of kernels ofber in 1% potassium nitrate solutior for 24 h before sowing induced notable increase in root length of 2-3 times more as compared to
unsoaked seeds (Murlhy alrd Reddy, 1989).
Pre-sowing seed treatments with nitrates of sodium and potassium at 1 .\Yo fot 24 h to
Ashwangadha seeds were found very effective and significantly increased the germination percentage and reduced the number of days taken for germitation. These pre-sowing treatments significantly increased the germination rate index, vigour index and also
increased the root length, dry matter accumulation and dry root yield ofAshwangandha.
References
Alekseeva, A. M. and Rasskazov, M. A. (1976). Nauchnye Tmdy Voronezh S Kh. ln-t,85,5; fld,-ri.r/rlr"
ab:tro ct, Y ol. 18. 1 523 Bhargava, R. and Banerjee, V. N. (199,1). Effects ofN & K on root characterisiics ofpotato. Joro.nal ofPldnt
Phl,siology, 37 . 130-132.
Dhindwal, A. S.. Lather, B. P. S. and Jagadev Singh, (1991). Efficacy of seed rreatment on gemination,
seedling emclgence and vigour ofcotton (Co$tpi t hirsuttnn) Eenotypes. Seed Research.l9(l),59 6lKid, F. and Wcst, C. I 9 I 9. Inll uence of seed treatments and subsequent growth and yield of corn. A nnual of
applied Biology,l,62.
Kuradikeri, M. B. and Kumdikeri, C. B. 1988. Seedling vigour in cotton as influenced by seed soaking trea!
menL Seed Research,16,57 62.
S. and Reddy, Y. N. 1989. Improvement ofseed germination in Jujube wirh growlh regularors
and nitrogenous compounds.India Jounal o.fAgriculntral Sciekces,59(4),269)10.
Nigam, K. B. 1984. Ashwagandha cul ti\atio11. |ndial1 Horticulho'e.28.3941 .

Mulhy, B. N.

Patel, G. S. and Jaisani, B. G. 1964. Effect ofpre-sowing treatment and stage ofharvest on gemination of
fennel seeds. /,idid, Jortrnal of Agronotny, 9, 261 270.
Singh, A. and Singh, H. N. 1973. The effect ofpre-sowing soaking witlr mineral solutiol1s on seedling vigoul
of cafio| Indion Jounal ol Aglicultut'al Sciences,43,9'73.

488