Effect of Different Treatments with Gibberellic Acid on the Germination of Pea Seeds (Pisum sativum L.)

Pea cultivation has witnessed significant growth in international trade in recent years, leading to increased export volumes worldwide. However, seed germination and early seedling growth often exhibit low uniformity, resulting in heterogeneous seedling sizes, which limit agronomic management and affect overall performance. As a result, this study aimed to assess the effects of gibberellin (GA) doses on the germination of the ‘Santa Isabel’ pea variety, one of Colombia’s most commonly cultivated varieties. A completely randomized design was employed with five treatments (0, 50, 100, 150, or 200 mg L−1). The application of 200 mg L−1 GA significantly enhanced germination percentage, germination potential, and germination speed index by 66.4%, 64.9%, and 71.5%, respectively, compared to the control. Furthermore, it increased the vigor index. The GA application reduced the mean germination time to 6.48 days, while the control exhibited 8.98 days. GA treatment increased seedling height to 5.3 cm, compared with 3.0 cm in the control. The variation coefficient in germinated seedling height increased as germination progressed and stabilized towards the end. Although GA did not affect the total fresh mass of the seedling, it did influence the proportion of mass allocated to each organ. Notably, there was a decrease in the amount of photoassimilates transferred from the seed to the leaves and stipules, accompanied by an increase in dry and fresh mass in the stems. The control treatment exhibited the highest fresh and dry leaf mass values compared with the GA-treated treatments.