RESPONSE OF PANICUM MAXIMUM CV SEEDS TO TREATMENT WITH MALT EXTRACT AND DIFFERENT SOAKING PERIODS AND THEIR EFFECT ON GROWTH AND GERMINATION CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

The laboratory experiment was conducted in the laboratory of the Department of Plant Protection / College of Agriculture / Al-Muthanna University for the year 2023/2024. To study the effect of barley extract (Hordeum vulgare L.) and the periods of soaking seeds in it. The experimental design was used according to the completely randomized design (CRD). The experiment included two factors, the first factor was the effect of three concentrations of the extract (8, 16, 32) % with the comparison treatment with distilled water (C0, C1, C2, C3) respectively, and the second factor was the time of soaking the seeds in the extract, which was for three periods (1, 2, 3) hours (T1, T2, T3 respectively) and with three replicates. The results of the experiment showed a clear difference in the response of the Bonicam seeds to the difference in concentrations, as the extracted concentration C4 had a significant effect on the germination percentage trait, giving an average of 46.30, while the concentration C2 was superior in the root length, plant height and number of leaves traits, giving the highest averages of 2.798, 46.6, 7.72 respectively, while the concentration C3 was superior in the germination speed trait, giving an average of 3.23. As for the soaking periods, the T3 treatment (three hours soaking) was superior in the germination percentage trait and root length trait, as it recorded the highest averages of 51.77 and 2.653, while the T2 treatment was superior in the number of leaves and germination speed trait, as it gave the highest averages of 7.28 and 2.67. Finally, the T1 treatment (one hour soaking) was superior in the plant height trait, as it recorded an average of 43.9. The interaction between the two factors, extract concentration and steeping periods, showed a different response between the treatments, according to what was shown from the effect of the factors when their effects were individual.