Abstract
The experiments were conducted at the Department of Processing and Food Engineering Workshop and the Department of Basic Engineering and Applied Sciences at the Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute in Kumulur. Dried leaves and twigs of neem were burnt under controlled combustion for 5 minutes in the liquid smoke generator unit. The liquid smoke from the combustion of neem leaves and twigs was diluted to different concentrations and used as a pre-sowing treatment for Stylosanthes and Desmanthus seeds. The treated seeds, along with the controls, were placed for germination tests. The experiments were carried out using four replications of 60 seeds each. Ten days after sowing in Stylosanthes and nine days after sowing in Desmanthus, germination percentage, root length (cm), shoot length (cm), and vigor index were recorded. The results of the smoke water treatment revealed that Stylosanthes seeds soaked in a smoke solution (1:750 dilution) for 2 hours recorded the highest germination, seedling growth, and computed vigor index when compared to the control treatment. On the other hand, Desmanthus seeds soaked in hot water at 80 °C for 5 minutes or seeds treated with concentrated H2SO4 for 5 minutes followed by soaking in a smoke solution with water at a 1:500 dilution for 2 hours exhibited the highest seed germination and seedling vigor.