An experiment was carried out at, College of Horticulture, Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, to assess the “Effect of packaging materials and storage conditions on seed germination and viability of gaillardia seeds (Gaillardia pulchella Foug.)”. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Completely Randomized Design (FCRD) with twelve treatments and three replications. The treatments consist of two levels of conditions viz., A1: Cold storage A2: Ambient condition with six different packaging materials viz., B1: Glass jar, B2: Air tight plastic box, B3: Aluminum foil, B4: Zip lock bag, B5: LDPE polythene bag (200 gauge), B6: LDPE Polythene bag (400gauge). The results revealed that the treatment combination of T3- A1B3- cold storage + Aluminium foil recorded maximum seed viability, (%) seed germination (%) percentage, seedling length (cm), seedling vigour index, field emergence percentage, and minimum EC, less no. of days to germination and followed by T6- A1B6- cold storage + LDPE (400) gauge. While the minimum seed viability was recorded in the T8- A2B2- ambient storage + Plastic box.

Gaillardia seeds, Electric conductivity, seed germination percentage, seed viability, seedling length, seedling vigour index, field emergence percentage

It can be concluded from the present investigation that among the two storage conditions, cold condition (A1) and ambient condition (A2) the best results were observed in cold condition (A1) in seed viability (81.28 %, 75.24 %), electrical conductivity (0.94 dsm-1, 1.01 dsm-1), germination percentage (79.17%, 75.80 %), seedling length (17.18 cm, 14.86 cm), field emergence (68.25 %, 65.79 %), seedling vigour index (1330.31, 1128.42) at 0 days and 90 days of storage respectively. Among the different packaging materials the maximum results were observed in the aluminum foil (B3) in seed viability (85.26 %, 77.59 %), electrical conductivity (0.90 dsm-1, 0.99 dsm-1), germination percentage (82.13 %, 78.72 %), seedling length (17.97 cm, 16.41 cm), field emergence (70.04 %, 66.67 %), seedling vigour index (1454.15, 1291.95) at 0 days and 90 days of storage respectively. The minimum results were observed in the air tight plastic box (B2) in seed viability (76.97 %, 72.44 %), electrical conductivity (0.95 dsm-1, 1.12 dsm-1), germination percentage (75.73 %, 72.59 %), seedling length (16.61 cm, 13.08 cm), field emergence (66.88 %, 63.38 %), seedling vigour index (1256.39, 949.65) at 0 days and 90 days of storage respectively. Among the interactions the effect of seed physiological parameters and seedling parameters due to storage conditions and packaging materials differed non-significantly.

Muchapothula Tejaswi, G. Jyothi, P. Prasanth, K. Venkatalaxmi and S. Praneeth Kumar (2023). Effect of Packaging Materials and Storage Conditions on Seed Germination and Viability in Gaillardia Seeds, (Gaillardia pulchella Foug.). Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(12): 445-453.