Seed germination behaviour of Asparagus racemosus (Shatavari) under in-vivo and in-vitro conditions

Asha Raghav and Pawan K Kasera

Abstract

Asparagus racemosus is an important medicinal plant, which is used in many Ayurvedic, Homeopathic and Unani preparations. The present article deals with an evaluation of its seed germination behaviour and seedling growth performance under in-vitro and in-vivo conditions. Data on various parameters such as seed morphology, germination performance influenced by different pretreatments, vigour index, seedling quality index (SQI), sowing depths and soil mixture ratios were observed. Results revealed that seeds exhibited cent percent germination under controlled laboratory conditions. Maximum SQI values were obtained when seeds were sown at 0.5 cm depth and 1:2:1 soil mixture ratios of sand: clay: FYM.