EVALUATION OF HEALTH STATUS AND QUALITY OF VEGETABLES SEEDS COLLECTED FROM RANGPUR DISTRICT OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

A series set of test of this experiment was carried out to evaluate the seed health and quality status of ten selected vegetables viz. amaranth, Indian spinach, bottle gourd, sweet gourd, snake gourd, okra, bitter gourd, cucumber, brinjal and country bean during November 2015 to April 2016 at Seed Health Laboratory of Department of Plant Pathology, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Untreated and unknown grower’s bulk vegetable’s loose seeds were collected from three different seed sources of Rangpur sadar viz. New Bangla Seeds; Islam Seeds and Rafiq Traders. Seed health study was conducted by following inspection of dry seed, blotter method, rolled paper towel method and growing on test. In inspection of dry seed method, pathogenic structures, mycelium (white and cottony) and acervuli were recorded. The observed physical abnormalities viz. deformed, shrinkage, swelling, spotted and undersized seeds were recorded. In most cases, the highest percentage of pure seed was recorded in seeds collected from Rafiq Traders followed by New Bangla Seeds. It was exposed that seeds of selected vegetables yielded six fungal species in blotter method. The identified fungi were Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium spp.,

Alternaria spp.,

Chaetomium spp. and Rhizopus sp. Seed infection of an unidentified bacterium was also recorded. The highest total seed borne fungal infection was found in the seeds of New Bangla Seeds. In rolled paper towel methods, seed germination varied from 70-94%, normal seedlings were 56-84%, abnormal seedlings were 5-18%, rotten seeds were 4-15%, hard or ungerminated seeds were 2-18% and vigor index was 677.3 to 2747. In growing on test method, seed germination varied from 65-99%, normal seedlings were 51-90%, abnormal seedlings were 8-19%, rotten seed were 1-15%, hard seeds were 1-24% and vigor index was 666.6 to 2747. In both methods, the highest seed germination and seedling vigor was recorded in amaranth and country bean of New Bangla Seeds, respectively. The overall health status and quality of bulk vegetable’s loose seeds were not up to the mark. Most of the seed-borne pathogens reduced the germination and produced diseased seedlings. Thus, seed treatment is suggested for the farmers/growers before sowing vegetable’s loose seeds.