Therefore, cucumber was selected as plant material to investigate if application of CaC2 could enhance seed germination and seedling growth characteristics.
The experiment was conducted with the objective of optimizing the appropriate level of CaC2 on the basis of germination and growth response of cucumber.
Analytical grade CaC2 (27%) procured from Ningxia National Chemical Group Co.
Results revealed significant interaction effect between cultivar and CaC2 on vine length.
Interaction between cultivar and CaC2 regarding all floral characteristics was found significant (P less than 0.01).
To exploit CaC2 potential it was coated with paint material to make its release slow and persistent; hence roots may be exposed to this hormone during critical periods of development.
Four rates of polyethylene coated CaC2 0, 100, 200 and 300 mg pot-1 were applied two weeks after transplantation of nursery.
Photosynthetic characters: Experimental data regarding the effect of various rates of coated CaC2 had a pronounced effect on the photosynthetic rate (PN), carboxylation efficiency, photosynthetic water use efficiency and plant water use efficiency (Table 1).
Maximum WUE (5.4 mg g-1) was noted in plants treated with CaC2 @ 100 mg pot-1 and minimum (4.2 mg g-1) was observed in control plants.
Until now, amongst the materials used for encapsulation of
CaC2, polyethylene is the best in slowing down acetylene release from ECC.