International Journal of Farm Sciences 5(3) : 74-81, 2015

Seed germination and seedling growth of papaya as

influenced by GA3 and propagation media
VIKAS RAMTEKE, DH PAITHANKAR*, MAHANTESH KAMATYANATTI,
MURLI MANOHAR BAGHEL, JUBIN CHAUHAN
and VIVEK KURREY**
Department of Horticulture, *AICRP on Tropical fruits (Citrus),
Dr Panjabrao Deshmkh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola 444104 Maharashtra, India
**Department of Horticulture, Indira Gandhi Agricultural University
Raipur 492012 Chhattisgarh, India
Email for correspondence: ramtekeviks@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
An experiment was conducted during 2013-14 at commercial fruit nursery, Department of Horticulture,
Dr PDKV, Akola, Maharashtra to study the influence of GA3 and potting media on seed germination
and seedling growth of papaya (Carica papaya L) seedlings cv Coorg Honey Dew. The treatments
comprised of combinations of soil, sand, FYM, cocopeat and vermicompost with varying levels of
GA3. Altogether 21 treatments were applied in a factorial completely randomized block design with
three replications. Among all the treatments the application of 200 ppm GA3 with soil + sand +
cocopeat + vermicompost (1:1:1:1) potting medium significantly influenced growth and health of
seedlings and resulted in maximum seed germination (82.22%), seed vigour index (2430.50), average
leaf area (44.89 cm2), length of tap root (11.6 cm) and survival percentage (78.78%) while maximum
height of the seedlings (19.20 cm) was seen in the treatment 200 ppm GA3 with soil + FYM (1:1)
medium. Collar daimeter (5.78 mm) and number of leaves per seedling (9.22) were recorded maximum
in 200 ppm GA3 with soil + sand + vermicompost (1:1:1) medium. Fresh weight (7.72 g) and dry
weight of plant (1.01 g) were recorded maximum in treatment 100 ppm GA3 and soil + sand +
vermicompost (1:1:1) medium.
Keywords: Papaya; GA3; vermicompost; FYM; germination; seedlings

INTRODUCTION
Papaya is an important commercial
fruit crop of tropical and subtropical regions
in the orchards and kitchen gardens due to
its fast growing and early bearing habit, low
input requirement and multipurpose uses.

For successful production of papaya

vigorous and healthy seedling production
is most important as the crop is
propagated through seed commercially.
But the seed cost of many gynodioceious
cultivars of papaya is very high. So
increasing germination and producing

Ramteke et al

vigorous seedlings is very important for

papaya growers. Proper seed germination
and seedling growth are most important
considerations in successful seedling
production under nursery technique of
papaya cultivation. The germination of seeds
of papaya is frequently reported to be slow,
erratic and incomplete (Chako and Singh
1966, Lange 1961). The seed is enclosed
within a gelatinous sarcotesta (aril or outer
seed coat which is formed from the outer
integument). Removal of seed covering
structure arils followed by presoak arils then
prewash improves germination (Lange
1961, Perez et al 1980). Gibberellins act in
the mobilization of seed reserves during the
germination process. Therefore they are
considered important germination
promoters and contribute to increased seed
germination speed and uniformity thus
improving the performance of papaya seeds
(Zanotti and Barros 2014).

the germination growth media and the

embryo (Anjanawe et al 2013). Cocopeat
is considered as a good growing media
component with acceptable pH, electrical
conductivity and other chemical attributes
(Abad et al 2002). Keeping in view the
response of seedling growth to GA3 and
potting media the trials were laid to study
the effect of different soil media on the
germination of papaya seed and
subsequently on the growth of seedlings.
MATERIAL and METHODS
The experiment was conducted at
the commercial fruit nursery, Department
of Horticulture, Dr PDKV, Akola,
Maharashtra. The experiment was laid out
in factorial completely randomized design
with three replications in polybags. The
experiment comprised of twenty one
treatment combinations of gibberellic acid
(GA3) and growth media viz are G1 (100
ppm GA3) , G2 (200 ppm GA3) and G0
(water as control); growth media M0 (soil
as control), M1 (soil + FYM, 1:1), M2 (soil
+ cocopeat, 1:1), M3 (soil + sand + FYM,
1:1:1), M4 (soil + sand + cocopeat, 1:1:1),
M5, soil + sand + vermicompost, 1:1:1),
M 6 (soil + sand + cocopeat +
vermicompost, 1:1:1:1). The seeds of
papaya cv Coorg Honey Dew were sown
in the pre-filled polybags. The required
quantity of plant growth regulator was
prepared through stock solution. The seeds
were soaked before sowing in the aqueous
solution plant growth regulator at desired

Growing media also plays important

role in seed germination. Growing medium
not only acts as growing place but also as a
source of nutrients for plant growth. Among
different media used vermicompost
provides sufficient levels of oxygen to roots,
adequate storage of water and nutrients for
the plants; useful substances significantly
increase nutrients availability and
consequently affect growth, yield and
quality of plants. FYM having the properties
of good water holding capacity as well as
being sufficient porous permits adequate
moisture and exchanging gasses between

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Papaya seed, seedling influenced by GA3, propagation media

concentration for 12 hours in beaker. The

seeds were dried for 10 minutes in shade
after soaking. The dried seeds were
immediately sown in the 20 polythene bags
for each treatment combiation. The
observations on germination parameters
were recorded at the time of germination
and growth parameters were recorded at
transplanting (50 days after sowing). The
Seed vigour index =

germination percentage was worked out

after complete germination ie after stopping
of germination. It was calculated by dividing
total number of seeds sown with the number
of seeds germinated and multiplied by 100.
Seedling vigour index was calculated by
adopting the method suggested by Abdulbaki and Anderson (1973) and expressed
in whole number:

Seedling length x germination (%)

Survival percentage was calculated by following formula:

Number of survived seedlings
Survival (%)= x 100
Number of germinated seeds
The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA).

were reported by Suryakanth et al (2005)

in guava, Dhankhar and Singh (1996) and
Gholap et al (2000) in aonla and Bharche
et al (2010) and Dhinesh Babu et al (2010)
in papaya.

RESULTS and DISCUSSION

Effect of gibberellic acid
The results (Table1) revealed that
the maximum (60.4%) seed germination of
papaya was obtained under G2 followed
by G1 and G0. The promising effect of GA3
as pre-sowing treatment to the seeds
replaced the dormancy mechanism of the
seeds resulting in early germination (Khan
1981). Gibberellic acid acts on the embryo
and causes synthesis of hydrolyzing enzymes
particularly amylase and protease and this
hydrolyzed food is utilized for growth of
embryo and thereby enhance the
germination (Paleg 1965). Similar results

The various vegetative growth

parameters such as height of the seedlings,
number of leaves per seedling, average leaf
area, collar daimeter and length of tap root
were found to be significant among the
different treatments (Table 1). Maximum
height of the seedlings, average leaf area,
collar daimeter and length of tap root were
observed in G2. At 50 days after sowing
(DAS) the seeds pre-treated with 200 ppm

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77

57.03 (49.16)
75.55 (60.60)
65.18 (54.08)
61.48 (51.82)
74.07 (59.62)
70.37 (57.28)
73.33 (59.55)
2.09
5.96

Potting media
M0
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
SEm
CD 0.05

Interaction effect
SEm
3.61
CD 0.05
NS

62.85 (52.80)
68.57 (56.23)
73.01 (59.01)
1.37
3.90

Germination
percentage

GA 3
G0
G1
G2
SEm
CD 0.05

Treatment

126.00
359.9

980.30
1900.00
1248.00
1295.00
1375.00
1456.00
1816.00
72.76
207.8

1278.00
1392.00
1646.00
47.64
136.00

Seed
vigour
index

0.83
2.36

12.77
17.37
12.26
13.97
12.21
15.18
15.91
0.48
1.36

13.36
14.44
14.92
0.31
0.89

Seedling
height
(cm)

0.35
1.01

7.59
8.70
6.89
8.14
7.44
8.14
8.29
0.20
NS

7.65
8.20
7.80
0.13
0.08

# leaves
/seedling

1.94
5.55

29.95
41.92
29.00
38.49
30.12
35.26
39.95
1.12
3.20

30.12
36.16
38.58
0.73
2.10

Average
leaf area
(cm2)

0.26
0.75

4.02
4.76
3.46
4.02
3.64
4.70
4.18
0.15
0.44

3.90
4.16
4.28
0.10
0.29

Collar
diameter
(mm)

0.57
1.63

4.18
9.42
7.00
7.71
6.39
7.09
9.03
0.33
0.94

7.11
6.77
7.90
0.22
0.62

0.34
0.97

3.36
5.68
2.54
4.83
3.60
3.84
5.70
0.20
0.56

3.74
4.39
4.54
0.13
0.08

0.05
0.15

0.39
0.73
0.42
0.62
0.44
0.56
0.77
0.03
0.09

0.44
0.59
0.66
0.02
0.06

3.98
NS

72.90 (59.14)
76.53 (61.64)
63.48 (52.19)
72.59 (58.97)
69.57 (56.55)
75.83 (60.95)
77.28 (62.11)
2.30
NS

70.30 (57.39)
72.43 (58.79)
75.06 (60.51)
1.50
-

Tap root
Fresh plant Dry plant Survival
length (cm) weight (g)
weight (g) percentage

Table 1. Effect of GA3 and media on seed germination, seedling growth, biomass and survival percentage in papaya

Ramteke et al

Papaya seed, seedling influenced by GA3, propagation media

GA3 recorded significantly higher height of

the seedlings (14.92 cm) which was
statistically similar to 100 ppm GA3 (14.44
cm) and control. The increased height in
200 ppm GA3 seeds may be attributed to
the reason that the endogenous levels of
GA3 synthesized by the papaya seedlings
might not be sufficient and external
application of GA3 might have boosted
growth by increasing cell multiplication and
cell elongation resulting in better plant
growth. The results obtained in the present
investigation are in close conformity with
the results of Pawshe et al (1997). Number
of leaves per plant was found significantly
higher over the control and other treatments
under G2. Increase in number of leaves might
be due to that GA3 helped in invigoration
of physiological process of plant and
stimulatory effect of chemicals to form new
leaves at faster rate. The results are in
conformity of Sen et al (1990) in papaya
seeds and Kalalbandi et al (2003) in Kagzi
lime.

revealed that collar diameter of papaya

significantly increased under G2. Increase
in girth of stem may be possible due to
stimulation of cambium and its immediate
cell progeny as observed by Dhankhar and
Singh (1996) and Gholap et al (2000) in
anola (Phyllantus emblica L) and Deb et
al (2010) in papaya.
Effect of potting media
The observations noted on
germination percentage, seed vigour index,
height of the seedlings, average leaf area,
collar diameter, length of tap root, fresh
weight of plant and dry weight of plants were
significantly influenced by different potting
media but highest germination percentage
(75.55), seed vigour index (1900.00),
height of the seedlings (17.37cm), average
leaf area (41.92 cm2), collar diameter (4.76
mm) and length of tap root (9.42 cm) were
noted under M1 over the other treatments
and control (Table 1) whereas maximum
fresh weight (5.70 g) and dry weight (0.77
g) of plants were observed in media M6.
The promising effect of M 1 on seed
germination might be due to appropriate
cation exchange capacity for retention of
nutrients and having the properties of good
water holding capacity as well as being
sufficient porous so that permitting adequate
moisture and exchange of gasses between
the germination growth media and the
embryo. It is essential for rapid and uniform
germination of seeds as reported by
Narayan et al (2008) and Bihari et al (2009)
in aonla. The maximum fresh and dry weight

The fresh weight and dry weight of

plant were found significantly maximum
under G2 in comparison to G1 as well as
control. This seems to be the effect of
mobilization of water and nutrients
transported at higher rate which promoted
more production of photosynthetic products
and translocated them to various plant parts
resulting in better growth of the seedlings
and hence more fresh and dry weight. The
results are in conformity with the findings of
Dhankhar and Singh (1996) in aonla. It is

78

M0
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
CD 0.05

M0
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
CD 0.05

Medium

3.67
9.97
8.47
7.87
6.83
5.37
7.60

51.11 (45.63)
77.78 (61.92)
55.55 (48.24)
53.33 (46.92)
73.33 (59.02)
71.11 (58.03)
57.78 (49.86)

G0

79
3.27
10.40
5.57
4.90
5.37
9.93
7.93
1.63

Tap root length (cm)

62.22 (52.20)
73.33 (59.36)
64.44 (53.48)
62.22 (52.24)
71.11 (57.92)
66.66 (54.80)
80.00 (63.64)
NS

G1

Germination percentage

5.60
7.90
6.97
10.40
6.97
5.97
11.60

57.78 (49.64)
75.55 (60.53)
75.55 (60.53)
68.89 (56.31)
77.78 (61.92)
73.33 (59.02)
82.22 (65.15)

G2

3.72
5.04
2.19
5.75
2.41
3.35
3.68

13.36
16.23
14.20
14.27
12.37
14.98
15.70
2.36

G1
12.41
19.20
10.82
14.32
11.86
17.79
18.01

G2

2.59
6.33
2.88
3.55
4.06
3.57
7.72
0.97

3.75
5.67
2.55
5.18
4.34
4.62
5.70

Fresh plant weight (g)

12.52
16.69
11.76
13.31
12.41
12.78
14.03

G0

Height of seedling (cm)

0.35
0.78
0.23
0.68
0.26
0.43
0.36

7.66
8.33
7.00
7.77
7.33
7.55
7.89

G0

0.37
0.76
0.46
0.49
0.48
0.54
1.01
0.15

Dry plant weight (g)

8.11
8.77
7.66
8.89
7.66
7.66
8.66
1.01

G1

# leaves

0.46
0.64
0.58
0.68
0.59
0.70
0.94

7.00
9.00
6.00
7.77
7.33
9.22
8.33

G2

Table 2. Interaction effect of GA3 and potting media on germination percentage, height of the seedling, number of leaves,
length of the tap root, fresh weight of plant and dry weight of plant in papaya

Ramteke et al

Papaya seed, seedling influenced by GA3, propagation media

of plants in treatment M6 might be due to

the fact that organic manure initially formed
conducive environment with regard to
physical parameters of soil which promoted
root and other vegetative growth; the
presence of beneficial microorganisms or
biologically active plant growth influencing
substances such as phytohormone were
released by beneficial microorganisms
present in the vermicompost rich soil
(Tomati and Galli 1995, Edwards 1998).

with the growth medium soil + sand +

cocopeat + vermicompost (1:1:1:1) and vice
versa.
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Received: 13.2.2015

Accepted: 21.5.2015

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