Plant regulators effect on germination of seeds of tabasco pepper

Abstract

The germination of pepper seeds, even under favorable conditions, is slow and disuniform, requiring the use of techniques which help to speed up the germination and uniform emergence in the field. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of different plant growth regulators on seed germination tabasco pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) The experimental design was completely randomized in factorial scheme 2 (pre-soaking) x 5 (plant growth regulators). There were four replicates of 50 seeds for each treatment. The plant regulators used were (1) Stimulate®, Stoller; (2) Sett®, Stoller; (3) CaB®, Stoller; (4) Progibb®, Valent Biosciences; (5) distilled water, which was used a volume of 13 ml of solution for all treatments. The seeds were pre-soaked for 24 hours or germinated directly in solutions with plant growth regulators. The seeds were submitted to germination test in gerbox in germinators at 25 °C for 19 days. The pre-soaked tabasco pepper seeds had higher percentage of germination, of normal seedlings and seedling growth, regardless of the pre-soaking solution. The growth regulators Progibb® and Stimulate® improved seed germination and early growth of seedlings of tabasco pepper. The use of any one of the bioregulators evaluated stimulated the development of roots.