Effects of Seed Soaking Treatments and Growing Media on Growth, Yield, and Disease Incidence of Sunflower Microgreens (Helianthus Annuus L.)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24843/Keywords:
biological agent, growing medium, seed treatment, sunflower microgreens, TrichodermaAbstract
Sunflower microgreens (Helianthus annuus L.) are high-value horticultural products with promising nutritional attributes; however, their productivity is often constrained by non-uniform germination and early disease incidence. This study evaluated the effects of seed soaking treatments and growing media on growth, yield, disease incidence, and vitamin C content of sunflower microgreens. The experiment was arranged in a two-factor completely randomized design with three replications. The first factor was seed soaking treatment: no soaking, soaking in distilled water at 23°C for 12 h, soaking in hot water at 50°C for 10 min, and soaking in a Trichoderma-based biological agent at 5 mL L-1 for 24 h. The second factor was growing medium: rockwool, cocopeat, and peatmoss. Observed variables included disease incidence, radicle emergence, cotyledon emergence, germination, microgreen establishment, plant height, economic fresh weight, and vitamin C content. The results showed significant treatment effects on several growth and yield variables. Seed soaking with the biological agent produced the best overall performance, particularly for germination percentage (84.89%), economic fresh weight per plant (449.78 mg), economic fresh weight per tray (21,167.78 mg), and vitamin C content (142.76 mg 100 g-1). Peatmoss supported higher vegetative growth and biomass accumulation, whereas cocopeat resulted in the highest vitamin C content (143.73 mg 100 g-1) but lower vegetative performance. These findings indicate that appropriate seed soaking and growing medium selection are essential for improving sunflower microgreen production and quality.
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