Effects of seed fermentation method on seed germination and vigor in the oleaginous gourd Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.

Abstract

Supplying high quality seed to rural farmers is the basic requirement for the sustainable development of agriculture in developing countries. The present study was conducted to examine the influence of Lagenaria siceraria seed fermentation method on seed germination and vigor. Three seed fermentation methods (fermented in ambient air, plastic bag stored in ambient or in plastic bag buried) were tested on two cultivars during two years. Seed germination and vigor were better when fermentation was conducted in anaerobic, darkness, and at low temperature. Low seed quality was observed in unfermented seed, suggesting the occurrence of postharvest maturity in L. siceraria. Seed quality did not vary between cultivars. Regardless of the fermentation process and cultivars used, the best seed and seedling qualities were observed when the amount of rainfall during the experiment period was high, suggesting that wet soil is necessary for an on farm reliable evaluation of seed fermentation method in the bottle gourd L. siceraria.

Keywords: Cucurbit, egussi, maturity, minor crops, oilseed, seedling, viability.