Growth, seedling vigour and biomass response of five locally available leafy vegetable microgreens to GA₃ and NAA under protected cultivation

Résumé fourni par la source

Microgreens are increasingly recognised as short-duration, high-value crops suited to protected cultivation, and current commercial interest is often centred on premium or specialised species, while common, locally cultivated leafy vegetables remain comparatively unexplored. This study evaluated the effect of gibberellic acid (GA₃) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), applied singly and in combination, on germination and early seedling growth of five locally relevant leafy vegetable microgreens-coriander, fenugreek, spinach, red amaranth and green amaranth-grown under protected cultivation. Four treatments, water spray (T₁), GA₃ at 20 ppm (T₂), NAA at 10 ppm (T₃) and GA₃ at 20 ppm plus NAA at 10 ppm (T₄), were compared in a completely randomized design, with data pooled across two growing seasons. Germination percentage and days to germination varied mainly with crop and were not significantly affected by treatment. In contrast, T₄ consistently produced the greatest plant height, hypocotyl length, root length, fresh weight and dry weight across all five crops, showing that the combined hormonal treatment influenced post-germination growth more than germination itself. Fenugreek recorded the highest overall biomass and root length among the crops tested. Crop-specific differences in response to GA₃ and NAA indicate that locally available leafy vegetables should be evaluated individually rather than assumed to respond uniformly to a common hormonal regime. These findings suggest that common, locally cultivated leafy vegetables can serve as accessible options for microgreen production, offering practical relevance for local growers, although wider evaluation across additional seasons, locations and crop species would be needed before broader recommendations can be made.

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