Influence of temperature, aluminium chloride toxicity and exposure to Bacillus subtilis on the germination of okra

Abstract

Influences of heat, aluminium chloride concentration and exposure to Bacillus subtilis on germination of okra seed were investigated. A factorial experiment was conducted using Petri dish assays, and seed germination percentage and coleoptile length were recorded for the different treatments. Secondary metabolite shifts of five-day-old germinated seed were assessed using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance and ultra-high resolution mass analyses. Analysis of the experimental data indicated that, individually, temperature, aluminium chloride concentration and exposure of the germinating seed to B. subtilis influenced germination of okra. Germination phenotype was also influenced by the interactions of the treatments. No clear-cut spectral shifts were observed in the secondary metabolome of the germinated seeds.