International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.6, 312-322 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 319 (Chiranjeevi et al., 2017). Regarding shoot length, Singh (2019) also recommended that plant growth regulators are often used to enhance the root and shoot growth of several horticultural crops. GA3 contains gibberellic acid which induces production of amylase and protease enzymes participating in the breakdown of the stored starch to simple sugars and its translocation thus, results early growth longest shoot length in seedling (Dhankhar et al., 1996). Similarly, reduced root and shoot length observed in halo priming might be possibly due toxicity of salt which further altered the ultrastructure of root cells and significantly reduced root growth during early seedling growth also relative to shoot growth (Tarchoun et al., 2022). The allometric coefficient was achieved high in hydro (unsoaked) while low in hydro (soaked for 12 hours). Germination percentage, germination rate index, germination energy and speed of germination were achieved more and faster in botanical priming as compared to other treatments. This result can be supported by Sharma and Kaur (2017) as they recommended that neem extract contains a diverse microbial community that can enhance seed germination by producing phytohormones Seeds primed with neem extract potentially results higher germination due to large number of microbes present in plant extracts which potentially lead to production of plant growth promoters (auxins, abscisic acid, gibberellic acid, cytokines, and ethylene). Such plant growth promotes enhance seed germination and increases the speed of germination (Indurugalla et al., 2023). However, the results from Palepad et al. (2017) contradicts with our result where seeds treated with GA3 emerged significantly earlier which might possibly be due to gibberellic acid. Gibberellic acid plays a key role in stimulating enzyme activity during germination. In terms of germination rate index, botanical priming reported to be excellent treatment for priming which is further supported by a study on rice which recommended that neem-primed seeds had reduced imbibition stress as the neem extract had lower water potential than pure water thus, limiting water uptake and reducing ROS formation (Indurugalla et al., 2023) . Also, according to Zeeshan (2010) neem extract contains rich compounds that function as natural plant growth regulator impacting the physiological processes within seeds, facilitating quicker and more consistent germination and resulting high germination rate index. Seeds primed with neem extract showed greater germination energy with high speed of germination. Furthermore, research conducted on rice by Galappaththi et al. (2022) mentioned that it is neem known for its antimicrobial/antifungal effect which reduces fungal or bacterial attack during germination, thereby improving germination percentage and energy (early fast germination). Also results from study on rice conducted by Garg et al. (2023) show that seeds primed with neem leaf extract under salt stress had increased germination energy, germination percentage representing high germination energy. However, high seed vigor index was reported in the seeds primed in water soaked for 12 hours. This result matches the results from Pandey and Umesha (2017) where primed seeds exhibited enhanced seed vigor due to decrease in membrane damage also coupled with high enzyme activities (dehydrogenase and amylase). Thus, contributing to the structural integrity of the seed membrane and mitigating potential injury. In milk thistle, hydropriming significantly increased seed vigor index and seedling dry wright, and improved field emergence compared with unprimed seeds (Golezani et al., 2016). Furthermore, the result from Krishnakumary et al. (2025) suggested that hydro-priming of cowpea seeds for 2 hours in double water volume gave Vigor index among treatments. The study of seed treatments helps identify the best methods for achieving quick and improved germination. Such research findings show which treatment boosts the highest germination rate and seedling health also saves time and resources, guiding the farmers and fellow research. Insights regarding germination parameters like: Germination energy quantifies the percentage of seeds that germinate within a specific time frame. Likewise, speed of germination describes the rate at which a seed initiates growth once placed in favorable conditions which involves triggering metabolic activities within the seed. Also, understanding relationship between root and shoot is crucial for studying plant development, resource allocation and adaptation to different environments.
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