THE EFFECT OF HYDRO PRIMING ON WHEAT SEED GERMINATION RATE

Abstract

Cereals contribute to 50% of total caloric intake and 95% of the total food requirement globally. Increasing climate change and population has increased the food demand and endangered the productivity of food crops due to various biotic and abiotic stresses and within these conditions‟ world is trying to push itself towards increasing the grain yield per unit of land. Several methods of seed priming are practiced to rejuvenate the seeds and remove the environmental stress. Hydro priming, a method of seed priming, has prominent advantage of stresses resistance, better crop stand, and emergence. In order to cope with the future challenges of crop productivity knowledge on the beneficial effects of hydro priming is important. Hydro priming induces DNA repair processes and Antioxidant responses associated as pre-germinative metabolism that leads to early and better seedling growth. Seed priming is an important problem in developing countries which seeds stored in inappropriate condition. Delayed germination, reduced normal seedling percentage and changed antioxidant enzymes activity are some indications of aged seeds. Priming is a technique applied before planting and can improve seed characteristics especially under abiotic stress conditions. The main objective of the study was to evaluate aging effect on seed quality and to study the interaction between seed aging and seed priming. The experiment was conducted in a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replicates. Results showed that seed aging reduced germination percentage, germination index, seedling length, normal seedling percentage, seedling dry weight, and activity and increased the germination mean time and electrical conductivity of seeds. The highest germination percentage, germination index, seedling length, normal seedling percentage, seedling dry weight, and the minimum germination mean time of seeds were attained from hydro-priming treatment under non primed condition. Hydro-priming improved aged seeds quality and increased enzymes activity. Therefore, priming is a technique can be applied to improve aged seeds germination and seedling characteristics. Seed Hydro priming may be the best solution to the germination related problems especially in crops grown in unfavorable conditions and enhanced activation of the plant defense mechanism describes this process. Defining the exact treatment duration, water volume, and temperature of water during Hydro priming can revolutionize the farming system with better results.