Seed Viability, Growth and Yield Responses of Two Okra (Abelmoschus Esculentus L.) Varieties to Different Hydro-Priming Durations

Okra is a highly nutritious vegetable crop that has the potential to contribute to combating malnutrition in developing countries. However, dormancy due to hard seed coat is a major setback in the production of the crop. This study determined the influence of different hydro-priming durations on the seed viability growth and yield of Asontem and OH-152 Syngenta okra varieties. A 2x3 factorial experiment arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCRD) with three replications was conducted. Factor one was variety at two levels (Asontem and OH-152 Syngenta), and factor two was hydro-priming durations at three levels (0, 12, and 24 hours). The study revealed that OH-152 Syngenta which was primed for 12 hours produced the most vigorous seedlings. The interaction of the OH-25 Syngenta variety with priming for 12 hours also led to early flowering compared with the other treatments. The interaction of priming durations and variety did not significantly affect the number of leaves the different weeks of data collection. However, the OH-152 Syngenta variety, which was primed for 12 hours produced more fruits and also gave higher yield as compared to the other treatments. There were strong, positive and significant relationships between germination percentage and vigour index (r=0.85), number of fruits (r=0.80) as well as number of leaves (r=0.89). Again, there was a strong, positive and significant relationship between vigour index and number of fruits (r=0.93) and weight of fruits (r=0.73). The linear regression analysis also showed that the number of fruits significantly affected the fruit weight such that 80% of the variation in the fruit weight was explained by the number of fruits. Furthermore, the vigour index significantly affected the number of fruits such that 87% of the variation in the number of fruits was attributed to the high vigour index. In conclusion, seeds of OH-152 Syngenta should be primed for 12 hours to improve seed viability growth and yield of the okra variety.