3.2. Effects of HLS on germination seeds
The effects of HLS on seed germination and root elongation
are presented in Fig. 1 and Table 2. No increase was
observed in the number of germinated seed. The germination
started 3 days after sowing and the first daily count
of germinated seed showed more radicle emergence for
the non-treated seed. However the mean germination rate after 6 days of incubation was not significantly different
from the control plants and monitoring by Piccolo et al.
(1993), the humic application seemed to slow down the rate
of germination. During the first four days after germination
there was no significant difference between root elongation
of treated and non-treated seeds. The root length
of treated seeds increased progressively and significantly
(+18%) after 5 days of germination (120 h) and increased
up to 25% more after 10 days (240 h) of treatment (Fig. 1).