Abstract: Clitoria ternatea L., a climber belonging to family Fabaceae, is mentioned in Ayurveda (ancient literature) as an important medicinal herb. Dormancy of seeds has been ascribed to hard seed coat and presence of waxy layer in it. Pre-treatment with chemical solvents thus developed as the most common method to promote germination. The study aimed to investigate the mechanism of dormancy by studying the effect of prolonged seed-dipping in water. Treatment seeds were dipped in water for different durations like 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, while the seeds plated directly on moistened filter paper served as Control. The percent germination at the end of 30 days for Control, 24 hours dip, 48 hours dip, 72 hours dip was 64.00±2.30%, 70.66±1.33%, 77.33±1.33% and 93.33±2.66% respectively. Germination did not improve drastically by 24 hours and 48 hours dipping but responded significantly well to prolonged dipping of 72 hours. It indicates that either the hard seed coat is major factor controlling dormancy which gets softened by prolonged dipping or the inhibitors in seed coat, if any, are not waxy but water-soluble substances, which leach-out by water dipping. The study not only dispels the proposition of waxy layer as inhibitor but also the resultant hazardous chemical seed-dipping methods. Dipping in water also promotes rapid germination of all viable seeds within shorter duration, which would help to get plants and crop of uniform age and maturity.
Keywords: Seed dormancy, Clitoria ternatea, Germination inhibitors, Seed coat.
Title: An investigation into mechanism of seed dormancy in medicinal plant Clitoria ternatea and development of an effective method to overcome dormancy
Author: Pratik Mohammad, Herman Uppal, Jaskaran Singh, M.C. Ravikumar, Heminder Singh
International Journal of Life Sciences Research
ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)
Vol. 14, Issue 2, April 2026 - June 2026
Page No: 1-4
Research Publish Journals
Website: www.researchpublish.com
Published Date: 02-April-2026
