Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
(eISSN: 2229-4473)
Influence of different pre-sowing seed treatments on the germination and growth performance of Abutilon indicum Linn.
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Pandey Varsha, Parihar Samiksha, Saxena Hari Om, Vijay Manish Kumar, Yadav Anil Kumar
Research Articles | Published: 01 July, 2026
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Keywords: n Abutilon indicumn , Seed dormancy, Acid scarification, Germination enhancement, Seedling vigour, Propagation
Abstract
Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet is an important medicinal shrub of the family Malvaceae with increasing demand for its therapeutic applications. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different pre-sowing seed treatments on germination and seedling growth performance of A. indicum. Seeds collected from natural populations of Jabalpur Forest Division, Madhya Pradesh, were subjected to fourteen pre-sowing treatments and evaluated under nursery and plant growth chamber conditions at the Tropical Forest Research Institute (TFRI), Jabalpur. The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design with three replications. Significant differences were observed among treatments for germination and seedling growth parameters. Among all treatments, concentrated sulphuric acid (H2SO4) treatment for 1 min was the most effective in overcoming seed dormancy. It recorded the highest germination percentage under nursery (78.71%) and plant growth chamber (60.46%) conditions, compared with 12.29% and 7.00%, respectively, in the control. The treatment also resulted in the earliest initiation of germination (7.00 days) and the shortest time to final germination (28.33 days) under nursery conditions. Seedlings produced from concentrated sulphuric acid-treated seeds exhibited the maximum shoot length (19.80 cm), root length (8.96 cm), vigour index (2346.04), fresh weight (7.03 g), dry weight (1.86 g), and number of leaves (10.00) under nursery conditions. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive associations of germination percentage with shoot length, root length, vigour index, fresh weight, and dry weight under nursery conditions. Under plant growth chamber conditions, germination percentage showed a positive significant correlation with number of leaves, whereas its associations with shoot length, root length, vigour index, fresh weight, and dry weight were negative and non-significant. The study demonstrates that concentrated sulphuric acid scarification is an efficient method for breaking seed dormancy and enhancing germination and seedling vigour in A. indicum, thereby supporting its large-scale propagation and conservation.
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Author Information
ICFRE-Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, India