Effect of Dew-Irrigation on Seed Germination in Flax, Fenugreek, and Fennel

Drought limits plants growth. In many parts of the world, crop productions depend on water availability. Seed germination is a sensitive and low water stage in plants. A pot experiment was designed to test the effect of dew-irrigation on seed germination percentage of fennel, flax, and fenugreek. Irrigation treatments included dew-irrigation and control (non-irrigation). Results showed that dew-irrigation increased seed germination compared to control. Treatment of dew-irrigation had seed germination of 92.7%, 78.7% and 63.5% for flax, fenugreek, and fennel, respectively. But none of the seeds of control treatment germinated. Among plants studied, flax which is a cold season plant had the highest percentage of germination by dew-irrigation, and the plants that are the most heat-sensitive, such as fenugreek and fennel, had the lowest germination percentage. Results of this experiment determined that the moisture content in the air is capable to provide the necessary moisture for seed germination of the plants studied. In conclusion, dew-irrigation, due to supply low water, is better to be used at stages with lower water requirement such as germination. The ability of water supply by dew-irrigation at whole plant stage can be studied in the next experiments.