Changes in Germination and Seedlings Growth of Carrot after Seed Pelleting with Plant Nutrients

Abstract

     Seeding is still a problem with the commercial cultivation of carrots. Due to the carrot seeds having a flat shape and small size, and being lightweight, there is a low degree of vigor and seedling uniformity among the seedlings. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to determine the type and amount of plant nutrients suitable for carrot seed pelleting. The experiment was conducted at the Seed Technology Laboratory, Faculty of Agricultural Production, Maejo University. A completely randomized design was used as the experimental design, with four replications that consisted of non-pelleted seed, pelleted seed + calcium sulfate, pelleted seed + 0.048, 0.096, or 0.192 g KNO3, pelleted seed + 0.064, 0.128, or 0.256 g NaH2PO4.H2O, and pelleted seed + 0.013, 0.026, or 0.052 g KCI. Calcium sulfate at 30 g was used as a filler material, and carboxylmethyl cellulose (CMC) at 0.1% (w/v) was used as a binder for the carrot seed (3 g). The results show that seeds pelleted with 0.096 g KNO3 had the best germination and highest speed of germination when compared to other pelleting methods, and the differences were statistically significant. Additionally, seeds pelleted with 0.096 g of KNO3 and 0.256 g of NaH2PO4.H2O had higher root and shoot lengths when compared to those pelleted with other methods, and the differences were statistically significant. In aging, all the rates of KNO3 seeding resulted in higher seed germination and speed of germination than did other pelleted seeds with different types and rates of nutrients. However, there were no statistically significant differences when compared to non-pelleted seeds and seeds pelleted with NaH2PO4.H2O at a rate of 0.064 g, and 0.013 g or 0.026 g KCl. Seeds pelleted with 0.096 g of KNO3 and 0.256 g of NaH2PO4.H2O had higher shoot and root lengths, and the differences were statistically significant when compared to seeds pelleted via other pelleting methods. Therefore, pelleting carrot seeds with 0.096 g of KNO3 is the most suitable formula for use and is our recommendation.