Effect of in vivo and in vitro seed germination and performance of Lisianthus seedlings

An experiment was conducted under controlled conditions to standardize the temperature, substrates and seed quality on germination in lisianthus cv. Blue Magic using both in vivo and in vitro propagation. In vivo seed germination was conducted at three temperature levels (20 1 C; 25 1 C and ambient room temp.) and eight substrate media {cocopeat, sand, perlite, blotting sheet, germination paper, cocopeat + perlite (1:1); (2:1) and (1:2)}. For in vitro germination, seeds were inoculated on the MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l IBA and BAP and cultured at controlled conditions (25 +/- 1 degrees C with 16/8 h light/dark photo period). In one-year-old seeds, maximum seed germination (38.66%) were observed in cocopeat: perlite (1:2) followed by cocopeat: perlite (1:1) at room temperature (34.0%). Under in vitro conditions, maximum seed germination (63.89%) was observed on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l IBA for fresh seeds