ISHS Acta Horticulturae 362: International Symposium on Agrotechnics and Storage of Vegetable and Ornamental Seeds
EFFECTS OF SEED OSMOCONDITIONING ON EMERGENCE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUMMER SQUASH (CUCURBITA PEPO L.) |
| Authors: | G. Mauromicale, V. Cavallaro, A. Ierna |
| Abstract:
In a series of field trials, the influence of seed osmopriming on emergence characteristics of the summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L. cv. Novo Diamant F1) was studied. Seeds were primed for 2 or 4 days in aerated solutions of polyethylene glicol 6000 (Peg) at -1,5 MPa, KNO3 at 2 or 3% and KNO3+KH2PO4 (1:1) at 2 or 3%, in a dark room with a temperature of 18±1°C. Primed and unprimed (control) seeds were directly sown in the field on 12 April 1991 and on 21 March and 4 May 1992. All osmopriming treatments significantly increased the percentage of emergence. In fact, on average of the trials, primed seeds showed a total percentage of seedling emergence of 93% as compared to 72% of untreated seeds. Furthermore, whatever the osmotic compound used, osmoconditioning increased mean rate and uniformity of emergence in comparison to the control. | |
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