Abstract

                                Investigation was carried out to evaluate the effect of fortified seed coating on seed germination and seedling vigour of tomato, brinjal and chilli. Seeds of these crops were fortified with water, gelatin (1000 ppm), KNO3 (2%) and salicylic acid (200 ppm) for 12h and shade dried, followed by seed coating with Bavistin (2g) + Imidacloprid (6g) and Polymer (20g/Kg of seed) in 40 ml of water along with untreated dry seed as control. The results revealed that tomato, brinjal and chilli seeds fortified with 2% KNO3 followed by coating performed better in terms of seedling quality parameters viz., germination, seedling length, dry matter production and vigour index and it was on par with seed fortified with 1000 ppm Gelatin and 200 ppm Salicylic acid followed by seed coating.

Key words : Seed fortification, seed coating, seed germination, seedling vigour, tomato, brinjal and Chilli.