Evaluation of Seed Germination and Growth Characteristics of Moringa oleifera and M. peregrina under Laboratory, Greenhouse and Field Conditions

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate production of Moringa peregrina and M. oleifera, in the central region of Saudi Arabia. Seed germination using seven temperature regimes in laboratory showed that 20°C is the optimum temperature for both species allowing the germination of 87-90% of cultivated seeds within 5 days, mainly from the fourth to seventh days of sowing. Satisfied germination (80%) was also obtained with 15 and 25°C for M. oleifera and M. peregrina, respectively. No germination occurred under 10 and 40°C for both species. The high temperature increased germination speed but deceased the germination percentage. The low temperature delayed the germination time. Under the optimum temperatures, both species had good germination time and rate but M. oleifera showed higher germination index. Under greenhouse, mid October was better than mid-February for seed germination and seedling growth of both species. Germination efficiency under greenhouse was different from that of laboratory where seed germination percentage of M. peregrina was higher than that of M. oleifera; 80% versus 53%, respectively. M. peregrina also showed better seedling growth specially in number of leaves. However, M. oleifera showed highly better growth under field conditions regarding height, spread, leaves number, leaf area and leaf dry weight. It also flowered 6 months after transfer to field or 8 months after sowing. The reported results could be beneficial for commercial production of such important crops in the central region of Saudi Arabia and similar regions. The reported results could be also important at fundamental level regarding the effects of temperature and growth trends.

Seed Germination, Seedling Growth and Photosynthetic Responses to Temperature in the Tropical Tree Moringa oleifera and Its Relative Desert, Moringa peregrina

“…The chlorophyll contents of M. peregrina leaves were significantly higher than the chlorophyll contents of M. oleifera leaves in all the temperature treatments. Similar findings were reported by Hassanein & Al-Soqeer (2017), who found that M. peregrina accumulated greater chlorophyll contents than M. oleifera when grown under field conditions.…”

“…Genetic variations between the two studied species and their distinct origins can explain the differences observed (Mridha, 2015;Muhammad et al, 2016). Furthermore, the ability of the two Moringa species to develop over a large range of temperatures, from 15°C to 35°C, may support their distribution and use as important crops for medicine and nutrition (Hassanein & Al-Soqeer, 2017).…”

“…Although plant species differ considerably in the optimum temperature range for seed germination and growth performance, it has been reported that the optimal temperature for seed germination of M. oleifera is 30/20°C (Muhl, 2009;Muhl et al, 2011A). The growth and seed production of Moringa species might be affected by climatic conditions, particularly high temperatures, drought, and high levels of irradiance (Melesse et al, 2012;Hassanein & Al-Soqeer, 2017;Wasonowati et al, 2019). In a recent study on the performance of several M. oleifera cultivars, variations in vegetative and reproductive growth traits were observed under dry, hot climate conditions (Zheng et al, 2019).…”

Probing the Phytochemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Moringa oleifera under Ideal Germination Conditions

“…The results show that seedling vigor I and II peaked at around 30 °C ( Supplementary Figure S1d,e ); in contrast, the seedlings performed poorly at 35 °C. M. oleifera showed higher growth under field conditions regarding height, spread, leaf number, leaf area, and leaf dry weight at 25 and 30 °C [ 28 ]. The dry weight, root length, and germination index comprise the most important factors to consider when determining temperature tolerance, as these factors determine biomass accumulation [ 29 ].…”

Germination Response of Ornamental Pine Seeds on a Two-Way Thermogradient Plate

“…Good germination was also recorded at 15˚C and 25˚C for M. oleiferaand M. peregrina, respectively. Nogermination was obtained from any speciesunder 10˚C and 40˚C [22]. The period for the first germination was affected due to the temperature regime.…”