Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, cilt.3, sa.8, ss.203-207, 2021 (Hakemli Dergi)
This research was conducted to investigate the effects of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation on seedling emergence and seedling growth parameters of cowpea seeds. The UV-C radiation treatments at different exposure times (0, 30, 60, 180 and 300 minutes) on the seeds were applied by using a ST 51 G/W 51UV tube with a wavelength of about 254nm. The control and UV-C treated seeds were sown in plastic boxes filled with experimental soil and incubated at optimum conditions. The seedling emergence rates (%), seedling height (cm), root length (cm), fresh and dry weights of seedlings (g) were determined. The maximum seed emergence rate was 86.6% for the seeds treated with UV-C for 60 minutes while the lowest was 83.3% for the control and 180 minutes UV-C treatment. The parameters ranged from 10.5±1.09–12.2±0.90 cm for seedling heights, 10.96±2.56–15.45±1.78 cm for root lengths, 1.015±0.07–1.106±0.11 g for fresh seedling weights and 0.064±0.004–0.080±0.012 g for dry seedling weights. Significant differences (p<0.05) were found for the values of seedling heights and root lengths. The seeds treated with 300 minutes resulted in the highest seedling heights and root lengths. As a result, future field experiments should be done to fully understand the effects of UV-C radiation on cowpea seeds.