Vol. 10, Issue 12 (2021)

Author(s):
Chinmaya K, VK Deshpande, Ravikumar Hosamani and Doddappa S Uppar

Abstract:
The current studies deal with the effect of cold storage on dormancy acquisition and dissipation in bitter gourd Vivek F1 hybrid. Even though the bitter gourd seed had been classified as orthodox, earlier studies reported its sensitivity to sub-zero temperature. Hence, the present study was carried out to investigate the seed germination and dormancy behaviour of bitter gourd seeds after storing at different cold storage conditions (4, 0, -20, -80 °C). In ambient condition, higher germination (71.33%) was noticed up to six months but it decreased to 36 per cent after nine months of storage. Whereas seeds stored at 0, -20, -80 °C temperatures recorded zero per cent of germination throughout the storage period. Further acquisition of secondary dormancy was confirmed by subjecting these seeds to tetrazolium viability test. Cold stored seeds require dry heat treatment (60 °C) for a period of 2 h in order to overcome cold induced secondary dormancy.