Standardization of germination media for seedling evaluation of davana (Artemisia pallens)

Davana (Artemisia pallens) is an important high valued annual medicinal and aromatic herb of India belonging to the family Asteraceae. India has a monopoly in production and export trade of davana oil and India stands 3rd in essential oil production in the world.  Davana is propagated highly through seeds. Either on trade or before sowing evaluation of seed germination is essential. International rules for seed testing recommended different methodological requirements for seed quality evaluation. One such requirement is the selection of media for germination to assure actual germination as media provide proper platform for full expression of seedling emergence and growth. Hence, the studies were conducted at the Department of Seed Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, on standardization of media and methodologies for germination test under germination room conditions in line with ISTA for seedling evaluation of davana seeds. On evaluation of seed germination, paper medium adopting roll towel methodology was highly recommended as the best media for evaluation of  germination percentage of davana seeds in seed testing.