Effect of Seed Priming with Some Plant Leaf Extract on Seedling Growth Characteristics and Root Rot Disease in Tomato

Abstract

Tomato is one of the important vegetable crops. The problem of seedling establishment is found in tomato due to several soil borne diseases. One of them is root rot caused by Fusarium oxysproum. There are many chemical methods available to control this disease, but use of chemicals deplete the soil micro-environment and causes soil and water pollution and also do not fit within the framework of ‘Organic farming’. Seed priming with certain phytochemicals may be an economic and ecofriendly alternative to such chemicals. In present study we primed tomato seeds with leaf extract of six different plants (White musale, Periwinkle, Neem, Wood apple, Lantana and White cedar). Different leaf extracts of dose of 2% was taken independently for seed priming. We found that priming with White musale, Periwinkle, Neem and wood apple leaf extract had an improvement in different seed and seedling growth parameters in presence of pathogen. Priming with Lantana and white cedar leaf extract showed a reduction in some of the parameters that may be due to allelopathic nature of these plants. Seed priming with leaf extract of Wood apple exhibited maximum survival rate (76.50 %) followed by Neem (68.46 %) and White Musale (52.60 %).

Keywords

• fusarium oxysporum
• plant extracts
• seed priming
• seedling vigour
• tomato