A new dawn for coriander seeds: Overcoming dormancy through innovative and comprehensive enhancement techniques

Coriandrum sativum an important spice exhibits lower seed germination. That may be due to phenolic compounds that induce dormancy in seeds. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive seed enhancement technique to overcome dormancy and improve germination and seedling growth. Seeds were subjected to GC-MS analysis to identify bioactive components. Seeds were leached for 6 to 30 h (Leaching). Following leaching, hydropriming for 3 to 18 h to standardize the priming duration. At the standardized priming duration, seeds were primed with hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide, salicylic acid and 2,4-D (leaching + priming). Additionally, leached seeds were coated with polymer and plant growth-promoting microorganisms such as Azospirillum, Trichoderma viride and Bacillus subtilis (leaching + coating). Finally, the best-performing treatments from these experiments were compared with comprehensive technique. The results revealed that coumarin was the primary inhibitor. Leaching (24 h) significantly improved germination by 25.8 % over control. The duration of priming was standardized to 6 h after leaching. Leaching (24 h) + priming with 25 mM H2O2 (6 h) significantly increases germination percentage by 30.7 % over control. Leaching (24 h) + coating with polymer and Azospirillum at 100 g/kg of seeds significantly increased germination by 32.8 % over control. Assessment of the comprehensive techniques revealed that seed leaching (24 h) + priming with 25 mM H2O2 (6 h) + coating with polymer and Azospirillum at 100 g/kg significantly increased the germination percentage by 39 % over control. Results show that a comprehensive technique breaks dormancy and improves germination and seedling growth.