Abstract:
The deterioration of seed quality during prolonged storage, as well as issues such as uneven and poor
germination, weak vigor, and inadequate seedling growth, are significant challenges in crop
production. As a result, the development of new techniques such as seed priming is crucial in
addressing these challenges. Seed priming involves regulating the hydration level of seeds to
facilitate pre-germination metabolic processes while inhibiting radical emergence. Current study
evaluated the effect of different organic and chemical priming methods on germination and seedling
growth of some selected crops. Non-expired seeds of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), Chilli
(Capsicum annuum), Capsicum (Capsicum annuum), Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and old/expired
seeds of Maize (Zea mays), Luffa (Luffa acutangular) and Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) were
evaluated separately. Moringa dry (MD) and fresh leaf extract (MF), coconut water (CW), cow urine
(CU), rice-husk ash (RA), distilled-water (DW), sucrose solution (SS), eggshell and vinegar extract
(EV) and KNO3 at different concentrations and soaking times were used as priming treatments. Non primed seeds were used as the control. Experimental design was Completely Randomized Design
with three replicates (10 seeds each). Cluster analysis was done to categorize treatments based on
the similarity of performances in mean germination time (day), time spread of germination (day),
germination rate index (% day -1), seedling vigor index and average seedling dry weight (g) using
SAS OnDemand for Academics. Significant difference between clusters were evaluated using One way Analysis of Variance under Generalized Linear Model. Treatments in the best performing cluster
were ranked based on their germination performances. Accordingly, for: Chilli–MD @20%(w/v) for
12 hrs soaking time; Capsicum–CU @10%(v/v) for 12 hrs; Tomato–MD @10%(w/v) for 12 hrs;
Maize–CU @5%(v/v) for 12 hrs; Okra–CW @50%(v/v) for 48 hrs were identified as the treatments
with higher ranks. There was no significant difference between treated and non-treated seeds of
Luffa and Cucumber (P>0.05). In conclusion, organic primers identified above such as cow urine,
coconut water and moringa dry extract with specific concentrations and soaking times that showed
higher ranks in germination performances can be successfully employed to enhance germination and
seedling growth of all tested crops, except for Luffa and Cucumber. Priming of old/expired seeds of
Maize with cow urine @5%(v/v) for 12 hrs and Okra with coconut water @50%(v/v) for 48 hrs can
potentially enhance their germination ability.
