Effects of alkali stress on seed germination and seedlings growth of Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal

Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal is one of the most important food and forage crops in India. It is a small, drought-resistant, annual herb. We quantified the effect of alkaline salts [NaHCO3, KHCO3 and (NH4)2CO3] stresses on germination and seedling growth in V. aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal. The results showed that alkali stress significantly reduced seed germination with increasing concentration of carbonate salts. Germination was highly affected by ammonium carbonate as compared to that by sodium bicarbonate and potassium bicarbonate. Root and shoot lengths were affected more by ammonium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate than by potassium bicarbonate. Fresh and dry weights of seedlings reduced with increasing concentration of NaHCO3, KHCO3 and (NH4)2CO3. From the results, it appears that V. aconitifolia is rather sensitive to carbonate salts during germination and seedling growth.