Seed Dormancy and Effect of Salinity on Germination of Citrullus Colocynthis

Abstract

—Citrullus colocynthis has been garnering interest in recent times as a potential biodiesel feedstock crop due to its high seed oil content (up to 50 %). There have been reports of seed dormancy in this crop, which can be a deterrent to its commercial cultivation. In this study, different pre-treatment methods to break seed dormancy were compared. Citrullus colocynthis is drought resistant, as established from the fact that it grows as a weed in arid and semi-arid lands. The tolerance of this crop to different levels of salinity during germination in vitro was investigated. An effective treatment to break seed dormancy was identified and locally collected germplasm was screened for salinity tolerance