Abstract

Seed germination, growth and seed vigourisity problems are the major bottlenecks that can reduce the yields of crops. Thus, this experiment was done with the objective of identifying the effect of seed treatment with water extracted smoke solutions on seedling performances and yield and yield related traits of barley cultivar (1307) under both field and laboratory conditions. The treatments included smoke water sources of–Acacia albida, Juniperous procera and wheat straw in four different concentrations (1:200, 1:400, 1:600, 1:800 and 1:1000 with cold water as a control); and foliar application was used with the same treatment at field study. Smoke solutions were produced by burning small quantities (50 g dry leaves/500 ml distilled water) of dried plant material from a range of species in a bee smoker attached by hose to a side-arm flask to pull the smoke through the water. The dilution of an aqueous smoke extract produced from uninterrupted bubbling of smoke from each plant had taken and steeping barley kernels in different dilutions from three plant-derived smoke-water resulted in earlier radical emerged after 48 hours and more uniform germination observed in laboratory. Foliar treatment also applied at field experiment to the stem and leaves of young seedlings by spraying with smoke-water solution after 20 days and at flowering stage. Treating barley seed with smokewater showed a significant (P