Influence of seed priming and growing media on germination and seedling vigour of papaya (Carica papaya L.) var. CO8

Papaya (Carica papaya Linn.) is globally recognised for its nutritional and dietary benefits. Papaya is extensively cultivated for its high nutritional and medicinal value. A nursery experiment was conducted at Karunya Institute of Technology and Science, Coimbatore, during 2024-2025 to evaluate the influence of seed priming agents on papaya germination and seedling vigour. Eleven priming treatments including water soaking, coconut water (50 % and 100 %), kinetin (25 and 50 ppm), GA3 (100 and 200 ppm), salicylic acid (1 mM), vermi wash (50 %) and humic acid (1 %) and an untreated control were evaluated in a factorial completely randomised design with three replications. Kinetin at 25 ppm (P5) significantly improved seed germination, viability and seedling survival, recording the highest germination (96.16–98.83 %), while the lowest values were observed in the untreated control. The combination of kinetin (25 ppm) with the growing medium consisting of soil, cocopeat and FYM supplemented with Trichoderma and vermicompost produced the highest seedling vigour and germination.