The effects of day temperatures and soil moisture levels on the germination parameters of cleome gynandra (L.)

Abstract

Cleome gynandra (L.), an orphan crop is generally well adapted to tropical and sub-tropical conditions. It is drought tolerant and resilient annual vegetable crop capable of growing well in diverse conditions.However, there exists gaps in known information about the crop on its germination biology which isimportant if the crop is to be adopted for commercial production. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of soil moisture and temperatures on the germination parameters of C.gynandra. The experiment was a 4*3 factorial experiment laid down as a randomised complete block design replicated three times and done twice over time. Data collected included germination percentage,mean daily germination and germination speed. The data was analysed using the Genstat version 18.The results showed that a significantly (P < 0.05) higher germination percentage was obtained on day 14at 100% soil moisture content. Germination percentage significantly (P < 0.05) increased from 25% soil moisture content to a maximum of 60% at 100% moisture content on day 14 with a correlation of R2 = 0.87 to 0.96 which shows the closeness of the relationship at day 7 to day 14. In terms of the temperature requirements for germination, 30oC gave the highest germination speed (P < 0.05). The trend was the same for all germination parameters that included mean germination time, mean daily germination, germination percentage and speed of germination. It can therefore be concluded that 100%moisture content and 30oC gave the most suitable conditions for C. gynandra germination. This study implies that the same conditions can be used during nursery establishment.