Electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers as carriers for hormones (IAA and GA₃) delivery in seed invigoration for enhancing germination and seedling vigor of agricultural crops (groundnut and black gram)

In the present study, nanofibers were developed from biodegradable polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). PVA at 10% has produced fiber with required size (111 nm to 176 nm). The nanofiber was infused with plant growth promoting hormones, gibberellic acid (GA₃) and indole acetic acid (IAA) and was characterized using SEM and UV–Vis spectroscopy. Topography of hormones-loaded electrospun fiber revealed that the diameter of the fiber was increased due to loading of hormones. GA₃-loaded nanofibers had the diameter ranges from 131 to 296 nm, and IAA-loaded fibers had the diameter size ranges from 106 to 275 nm after loading. The UV–Vis spectra confirmed the hormonal loading in e-spun nanofiber. Hormones-infused PVA nanofibers were evaluated for its bio-efficacy on seed quality under in vitro condition, and the results revealed that IAA incorporated nano-fiber-coated seeds such as groundnut and black gram had registered higher germination at 88% and 86%, seedling vigor at 3458 and 3431, respectively. The nano-fibers-coated seeds were also tested under different PEG-induced moisture regimes. The data indicated that groundnut and black gram seeds coated with IAA-infused nanofibers were found to be registered higher germination and seedling vigor under higher moisture stress.