Capstone internship at the Institute of Crop Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños with a mini-study on : the evaluation of the effectiveness of plasma-activated water and moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) leaf extract as seed priming agents for adlay (Coix lacryma-jobi Linn.)

Date

5-2026

Adviser

Job Jonas C. Ruzgal

Principal

Buela, Mabel S.

Abstract

Cereal crops such as Adlay (Coix lacryma-jobi Linn.) have been encouraged as a promising alternative to rice due to their drought resiliency and nutritional value. Nonetheless, Adlay remains underutilized, partly due to poor germination performance associated with its hard seed coat. This study evaluated the effectiveness of plasma-activated water (PAW) and moringa leaf extract (MLE) as seed priming agents to enhance adlay’s germination and morphology. A completely randomized experimental design (CRD) was conducted over 7- and 10-day germination periods, with unprimed seeds as the control. Treatments included PAW exposure times (2, 2.5, and 3 minutes) and MLE v/v concentrations (3%, 5%, and 7%). One-Way ANOVA was used to analyze germination percentage, shoot length, root length, and fresh weight, followed by Tukey’s HSD post hoc test. In the first PAW trial, the gulian variety showed significant performance (p = 0. 023) in germination percentage, with 2.0-minute (84.00%) and 2.5-minute (85.78%), while Kiboa showed no significant differences. In the second trial, kiboa exhibited significant performance (p = 0. 007) in fresh weight, regardless of the exposure time. although differences among them were not significant. MLE treatments did not significantly affect germination performance, but results revealed greater effects on plant growth. In gulian, the 5% MLE treatment significantly produced a lower fresh weight (p =< 0. 001) (2.98 g) than the control (4.26 g), 3% (3.86 g), and 7% (3.78 g). For kiboa, shoot length differed significantly (p = 0. 031), where all treatments increased it compared to the control, with no significant differences among them. The results suggest PAW has the potential to enhance the germination performance of adlay varieties, while MLE may contribute more to early plant growth. Further trials are recommended to validate the findings of the study.

Language

English

Location

UP Rural High School

Document Type

Capstone

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS