Die Bodenkultur - Journal for Land Management, Food and Environment

M.R. Abdollahi, B. Mershad, A. Mirzaie Asl and A. Sepehri:

Plant-derived Smoke Solution and Potassium Nitrate Affect Seed Germination and Seed Vigour in Four Medicinal Plant Species

Summary

The effects of smoke water and potassium nitrate on germination and seed vigour were tested in the four medicinal species Sanguisorba minor, Pimpinella anisum, Melissa officinalis and Nigella sativa. Dry seeds were soaked in either smoke water (1:500), KNO3 solution (150 mM) or distilled water as a control for 1 h followed by a germination test in the same solutions. Smoke water enhanced in S. minor germination percentage (GP), germination speed (GS), shoot length (SL), root length (RL), total seedling length (TSL), seedling fresh mass (SFM), vigour index (VI) and germination value (GV), in P. anisum GS, SL, VI and GV and in M. officinalis RL, root/shoot length ratio (R/S) and SFM. Seeds of N. sativa showed no response to smoke water. Potassium nitrate enhanced in P. anisum GS, SL, VI and GV, in M. officinalis GS, SL, RL, TSL, SFM, VI and GV and in N. sativa SL. Significant positive correlations were found between the responses of the four species to smoke water and to potassium nitrate for GP (r = 0.58, p < 0.01), GS (r = 0.61, p < 0.01), R/S (r = 0.55, p < 0.01) and GV (r = 0.43, p < 0.05). Key words: Smoke water, seed vigour, Sanguisorba minor, Pimpinella anisum, Melissa officinalis, Nigella sativa.