Hormone priming and salicylic acid concentrations in relation to seed germination in Asafetida (Ferula assa-foetida L.)

Asafetida is a medicinal plant belonging to the family of Apiaceae. Gum obtained from this plant has many industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Poor establishment of this plant is of main concern that is mainly attributed to the issues on seed germination and slow initial growth. Hormone priming is aimed to improve seed germination and increase plant establishment. The present study is an attempt to investigate the effects of hormone priming on seed germination in different time and concentration regime. The experiment was planned based on a factorial-completely randomized design with three factors including hormone type at two levels (Giberlic acid and Salicylic acid), priming time duration at 3 levels (6, 12 and 24 hours) and Hormone concentration at three levels (500, 1000 and 1500 ppm) in 4 replications. The results showed that the seeds primed with giberlic acid (500 ppm for 12 hours) and salicylic acid (500 ppm for 6 hours) have made high improvements to Asafetida’s seed germination. As well as to evaluate the effect of different SA concentrations on seed germination was conducted an experiment in a completely randomized design with 6 treatments and 3 replications. Results showed that the concentrations of salicylic acid had inverse relations with germination characteristics.