Standardization of seed dormancy breaking treatment in Senna (Cassia auriculata)

The study conducted to standardize the seed dormancy breaking treatment in senna (Cassia auriculata) revealed that soaking the seeds in hot water (boiled to 100°C and removed from the flame) for 15 min and soaking with 100 ppm GA3 for 3 h had effectively improved the germination (98%), root length (7.2 cm), shoot length (9.5 cm), dry matter production (0.258 g per ten seedlings) and vigour index (1637) compared to hot water treatment for 15 min alone (89% germination) and non-scarified seeds (20% germination). The seeds scarified with concentrated sulphuric acid also showed better germination than the non scarified seeds but less than the hot water scarified seeds. Key words: Senna, Cassia auriculata, seed dormancy breaking, hot water treatment.