Analysis of Seedling Development and Germination Study in Clitoria ternatea L. under Different Dormancy Treatments

Abstract

The butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea L.) as a high value commodity facing cultivation hurdles due to physical dormancy caused by impermeable seed coat. This study aimed to identify the most effective dormancy breaking method and establish standardized ‘First Count” and “Final Count” interval for laboratory testing. Completely Randomized Design was arranged, testing three treatments: control, physical scarification and hot water immersion. Results showed that physical scarification was the superior method, significantly outperforming other treatments across all viability and vigor parameters. It achieved maximum germination rate 93.3% and potential growth of 96%, while effectively reducing the hard seed percentage and dormancy index to 0%. The control and hot water treatments only reached 50% germination rate. Physical scarification initiated radical emergence at 52 hours post imbibition and reached its first count peak on day 13, with final count on day 16. Hot water immersion and control groups required significantly longer periods, with final count reach on days 25 and 23, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that these treatments did not significantly increase the rate of abnormal seedling or mortal seed, proving remain within the seed physiological tolerance. This research successfully established that physical scarification not only maximize total viability but also drastically improves growth synchronization. These findings provide vital baseline for standardizing butterfly pea seed certification protocol, ensuring objective and efficient quality assessment.