Effect of selected microbiological products on soybean seed germination capacity

A b s t r a c t. Germination of three soybean cultivars: Abelina, SG Anser and Merlin was examined in a laboratory study as affected by products containing effective microorganisms: EM5, EM Farma and EM Mulit Grower. Germination in an aqueous environment was the control treatment. Analysis of germination capacity after 5 and 10 days from the beginning of the experiment (as indicated by International Seed Testing Association) was based on two-way analysis of variance. A logistic function was used to analyse the average number of germinating seeds over time (for each cultivar × product). Based on this function, the rate of germination and the time (day) when the greatest number of seeds germinated were determined. Regardless of the applied product, cv. Abelina had the best germination performance at the first and second date of counting as its germination capacity was 55 and 86%, respectively. An application of EM Farma contributed to a significant increase in seed germination capacity at both the dates compared with the control and the remaining products. No significant differences in the number of germinated seeds counted after 5 and 10 days following EM application were found for cv. Merlin only. The highest number of germinated seeds at the logistic curve inflection point was observed for all the cultivars treated with EM Farma, their germination rate ranging from over 7 to 19% per 24 hrs. K e y w o r d s: effective microorganisms, soybean cultivars, logistic function, germination rate