Priming with Moringa Leaf Extract Improves the Germination and Growth of Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria L.)

Several biotic and abiotic stresses negatively influence the germination of vegetable crop seeds, which ultimately lead to the poor seedling establishment. Among vegetables, cucurbits are a largely demanded group but most of the vegetables of this group have hard seed coat which hinders the resilient seed germination. Similarly, the seeds of bottle gourd encounter disrupted germination. However, research methods have been moved towards the quick approaches that can enhance seed germination under varying environmental stresses, seed priming is one such quick method to enhance seeds tendency to uniform germination. Therefore, a pot experiment was conducted at Horticulture Garden, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam during summer 2023 for investigating the germination and growth response of Bottle gourd to priming with moringa leaf extract (MLE) concentrations. The experiment was conducted via three replicates using Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The methodically structured treatments were: T1 = Control, T2 = Tap water, T3 = priming with 1% MLE, T4 = priming with 3% MLE, T5 = priming with 5% MLE and T6 = priming with 7% MLE. The findings of the study revealed that the bottle gourd seeds primed with 7% moringa leaf extract (MLE) resulted in maximum seed germination, germination index, seedling vigor index, plant height, number of leaves plant-1, fresh shoot biomass, fresh root biomass, root length and chlorophyll content. However, the minimum result of all the parameters was found under control. Based on the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that priming with 7% moringa leaf extract (MLE) significantly enhanced the germination and growth performance of bottle gourd.