Effect of crop age and seed, hardening on seed germination in buffel grass

Effect of crop-age, viz., establishment year, 1-year and 2-year-old crops and hydration treatment, viz., untreated (control), hydration for 16 to 18 h (H-D), cold hydration (72 h) at 10degreesC (cold 14-D), hydration with 100 ppm GA(3) for 16 to 18 h (GA(3) H-D), and hydration for 16-18 h followed by dry dressing with thiram @ 0.25%(H-D-T) on seed germination was studied in buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris Linn.). The treated seeds were dried at room temperature below 25degreesC. The crop ages, hydration treatments and their interaction had significant effect on seed germination. The seeds harvested from the establishment-year-crop gave 37.0 and 4-7.1% higher germination than the seeds of 1-year and 2-year-old crops, respectively. The seed. germination recorded with cold H-D and GA(3) H-D was significantly higher than rest of the hydration treatments. These treatments had 21.82 and 21.32% higher seed germination than control (50.42%).