Fluoride induces morphological change in Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L) during germination and early seedling

The goal of this study was to assess the toxicological effects of exposing popular variety of fenugreek [Trigonella foenum-graecum L.] to fluoride during the germination and early seedling stages. In January 2022, the experiment was carried out at Arunachal University of Studies, Namsai. Surface sterilized seeds of uniform size were set for germination in petri-plates over cotton beds, treated with fluoride solutions of varied strengths (0.0, 2.0, 4.0 and 6.0 mM), made from a stock solution of sodium fluoride (50.0mM). The results showed that fluoride might cause considerable phytotoxicity during germination and seedling growth. Fluoride administration resulted 13 to 43.10% suppression of germination from 2.0mM to 6.0mM. Similar results were also found in germination index, germination energy, relative germination rate and seedling vigor index which were significantly reduced by 43.1, 43.1, 34.0, and 84.0% in 150.0 mM, respectively. Fluoride also had significant detrimental impact on seedling length (71.78%) in the intact seven days with increasing doses of fluoride.