Eff ect of Gibberellic Acid, Kinetin and Indole 3-Acetic Acid on Seed Germination Performance of Dianthus caryophyllus (Carnation

Th e experiment was undertaken with an objective to investigate the eff ect of various concentrations of plant growth regulators, i.e., Gibberellic acid (GA3), Kinetin and Indole 3-acetic acid (IAA) on seed germination of Dianthus caryophyllus. Dianthus seeds were soaked in diff erent concentrations (0 ppm or control, 10 ppm, 20 ppm, 30 ppm and 40 ppm) of each of GA3, Kinetin and IAA for 24 h at room temperature (25±2oC). Th ree replicates of each treatment with ten seeds per replicate were arranged for precise physiological analysis. Signifi cant variation was found in all aspects aft er analysis of variance (ANOVA) of each mean value. Aft er two weeks of seed soaking, it was noted that germination percentages were signifi cantly accelerated by lower concentrations (10 and 20 ppm) of used hormones. Amongst the three potential growth regulators, 20 ppm was found most eff ective because it showed highest germination percentage for GA3 (87.46%), Kinetin (78.92%) and IAA (75.35%). A great deal of information relating to seed germination practices shows that these plant growth regulators were effi cient in overcoming dormancy leading to rapid seed germination. GA3 was selected as best hormone in this study, which showed highest seed germination (87.46%). Th ese results could be useful in large scale cultivation of Dianthus caryophyllus plants to improve its fl oricultural impact worldwide.