EFFECT OF SPIRULINA SPP. EXTRACTS ON TOMATO AND ONION SEED GERMINATION

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of Spirulina spp. extracts on tomato and onion seeds germination. The tomato and onion seeds were soaked in different Spirulina spp. extracts for 5 days. The relative seeds germination (RSG), relative root growth (RRG), germination index (GI), germination rate (GR), and germination potential (GP) were calculated. GR reached 86.7 % for the tomato seeds treated with 0.2 g/100 mL, followed by 80.0 % for the tomato seeds treated with 0.4 g/100 mL and 66.7 % for the tomato seeds treated with 0.6 g/100 mL and 0.8 g/100 mL extract. For onion seeds, the highest GR value (40.0 %) was obtained for the seeds treated with 0.4 g/100 mL extract, while the lowest (20.0 %) was obtained for the seeds treated with 0.6 g/100 mL and 0.8 g/100 mL extract. The highest GI for tomato seeds, after 5 days, was 50.0 % (0.2 g/100 mL extract), followed by 40.4 % (0.4 g/100 mL extract), 24.0 % (0.6 g/100 mL extract), while the lowest value was 14.4 % (0.8 g/100 mL extract). The GI for onion seeds, after 5 days, was 33.3 % for 0.2 g/100 mL extract, 40.0 % for 0.4 g/100 mL extract, 20.0 % for 0.6 g/100 mL extract and 13.3 % for 0.8 g/100 mL extract.