Assessment of the effect of powdered Capsicum L. fruits and Artemisia L. on preserving Cicer arietinum and Vigna unguiculata seeds and their effect on the subsequent germination.

Abstract

Around the world, one-third of global agricultural production, estimated at several billion dollars, is lost annually by more than 20k species of insects in fields and granary. Therefore, this study aims to assessment the effect of powdered red pepper (Capsicum L.) fruits and wormwood (Artemisia L.) leaves on preserving cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) seeds and their impact on the subsequent germination process. The powders were added in different concentrations to seeds by 0, 2, 10, 20 and 30% and kept for 3 months at temperature of 35-400 C. After that, the seeds were weighed and the extent of pest emergence and the impact of the seeds on them were measured. Moreover, the seeds treatments were subjected to 10-day germination cycle, followed by measuring the germination indicators of percentage, radical and plumage length. The results showed the ability of powdered red pepper and wormwood to preserve chickpea seeds. The ability to preserve cowpeas was limited to red pepper powder, as the weight loss in the presence of wormwood reached 3.8-23.1%. The results also showed a negative effect of the tested powders on the germination of chickpea seeds, and the decrease in the percentage of germination was 10-40% compared to the control seeds, and for the rest of the germination measures of radical and plumage length, there were no significant effects of these powders on them, so this study recommends the possibility of using red pepper in preserving cowpea seeds for a period of 3 months and searching for other effective sources from the local environment to preserve chickpea seeds that do not affect their germination process.