GA3 and growing medium influence papaya seed germination and seedling growth

Abstract

The most crucial factor in producing papaya seedlings successfully is seed germination. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of seed priming with growing media on seed germination and seedling growth of papaya from October to December 2022. The experimental treatments included three seed priming treatments: T0 = control (no seed priming treatments), T1 = GA3 (100 ppm), and T2 = KNO3 (1%), and four growing media, viz., M1 = soil + vermicompost (1:1), M2 = soil + cowdung (1:1), M3 = soil + cocopeat + vermicompost (1:1:1), and M4 = soil + cocopeat + cowdung (1:1:1). The treatments showed a significant effect on different parameters such as germination percentage, days to germination, survival percentage, chlorophyll content, seed vigor index, shoot, and root length. GA3 treated seedlings performed better than non-GA3-treated seedlings. Among the growing media, M3 showed the best for seed germination and other growth attributes compared to other growing media. In terms of interaction effects, T1M3 showed the highest performance for germination percentage (84.33%), survival percentage (91.0%), and chlorophyll content (44.26%). T1M3 also showed the highest seed vigor index, shoot and root growth, and plant biomass. As a result, the combination of GA3 and growing media containing soil + cocopeat + vermicompost was shown to be the most favorable for papaya seed germination and seedling growth.