Seed biopriming with Moringa oleifera leaf and bark extracts improves seed germination and early seedling vigor of rice

Md. Parvez Anwar; Mst. Zinat Hossain; Nazmun Naher Priya; Md. Nazmus Sakib; Swapan Kumar Paul

doi:10.26832/24566632.2026.110309

Authors

Md. Parvez Anwar
Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh - 2202, Bangladesh
Mst. Zinat Hossain
Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh - 2202, Bangladesh
Nazmun Naher Priya
Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh - 2202, Bangladesh
Md. Nazmus Sakib
Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh - 2202, Bangladesh
Swapan Kumar Paul
Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh - 2202, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26832/24566632.2026.110309

Keywords:

Bio-stimulant, Seedling vigor index, Stress tolerance, Water extraction method

Abstract

Seed priming is a pre-sowing treatment that promotes rapid and uniform germination, seedling establishment, and early vigor, depending on the priming agent and its concentration. This study evaluated the potentiality of Moringa extract (Moringa oleifera) as a biopriming agent for enhancing seed germination and seedling growth of rice. Water extraction method was applied for the extraction of Moringa bark and leaf extracts (MBE and MLE) followed by diluting 10, 15, 20 and 25 times. Nine priming treatments such as- control (no priming), MBE10, MBE15, MBE20, MBE25, MLE10, MLE15, MLE20 and MLE25 were used in the experiment with four replications. A clear advantage of biopriming with Moringa extract over no priming was evident for rice seed germination and seedling growth and vigor and bark extract performed better than leaf extract. In general, higher concentration resulted in better performances for most of the parameters studied. For germination parameters, the maximum germination (93.75%), shortest mean germination time (5.30) and utmost germination index (71.00) were recorded for MBE10. For seedling growth parameters, highest shoot length (15.60 cm), highest root length (11.85 cm), highest shoot dry weight (0.0483 g), highest root dry weight (0.0535 g) and highest root-shoot ratio (0.76) were also recorded from biopriming with MBE10. The findings demonstrate that Moringa bark extract has considerable potential as a seed biopriming agent for enhanced seed germination, seedling growth and vigor of rice. Further studies should characterize the bioactive compounds in Moringa extracts and elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the observed responses.

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