Effect of harvest aid herbicides on germination and vigour index of mungbean seeds

Abstract

Mungbean (Vigna radiata) is an economically important pulse crop. It is widely grown by farmers due to its dual profitability in terms of production and enriching soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation. Harvesting of mungbean is complicated due to its indeterminate growth habit and presence of green weeds. To dry plants and speed up harvesting of crops, pre-harvest herbicides are used as harvest aids. In the present study, two harvest aid herbicides (paraquat and glyphosate) at three different levels (2.47, 3.70 and 4.94 L ha-1) along with a non-treated control were tested for two mungbean varieties (‘NM-2011’ and ‘NM-2016’) to evaluate their effects on germination parameters. Germination under laboratory conditions, field conditions and mean germination time showed non-significantly different results, while vigour index showed significant differences. Seeds of ‘NM-2011’ had 97% germination following 3.70 L ha-1 paraquat or 4.94 L ha-1 glyphosate. Similarly, seeds of ‘NM-2016’ had 100% germination following 4.94 L ha-1 paraquat, while all levels of glyphosate showed non-significant decreases in germination as compared to the non-treated control.