Effects of Specific Gravity on Germination and Emergence of Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica Beauvois)

Abstract

The establishment rate of foxtail millet seeds is greatly affected by soil environment conditions. To enhance germination viability and stable production of foxtail millet seeds, it is important to select seeds with a high density. Therefore, this study tested the selection of high-quality seeds using salt solution (specific gravity: 1.000, 1.005, 1.010, 1.015, 1.020, 1.025, 1.030, 1.035, and 1.040 g L-1) and investigated their germination rates, percentages of emergence, and seeding quality. In this study, three varieties were tested: ‘Hwanggeum’, ‘Samdachal’, and ‘Kyeongkwan1’. The thousand seed weight of all three varieties increased proportionally with specific gravity. The highest thousand seed weight was observed at the selection with 1.040 g L-1 specific gravity, which also had the highest germination rate of 88.3%, 86.7%, and 90.6%, for ‘Hwanggeum’; ‘Samdachal’; and ‘Kyeongkwan1’, respectively. The results of seeding quality indicated that higher the specific gravity during selection, the higher were the values of plant growth (plant height, leaf length, stem diameter, root length, root weight, and stem weight). All the three varieties were found to be longer or heavier for seeds selected at the specific gravity of 1.040 g L-1. The packing germination viability investigation found that higher the specific gravity for selection of seeds, the higher was the percentage of emergence (PE) and the emergence rate index (ERI). The PE was the highest for seeds selected at 1.040 g L-1 specific gravity (85.3, 83.0, and 87.0%), and ERI was also as high as 2.82 d-1 m-1 or more at 1.040 g L-1. Selection of seeds with salt solution resulted in high germination viability of foxtail millet. Therefore, sowing seeds selected at 1.040 g L-1 specific gravity is expected to help substantially in increased productivity.