Effect of seed priming on emergence and yield of late sown wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) on Typic Haplusterts of Central India

Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques were employed to identify reasons for low yield in wheat. Due to late sowing of wheat after cotton, poor crop establishment was identified as a major deterrent to high yield. Seed priming could be an attractive approach to obtain better crop stand and higher wheat yield. The present study was conducted to explore the possibility of improving the performance of late sown wheat cultivars through seed priming. The effect of on-farm seed priming on wheat emergence and yield was studied in the farmer's fields during rabi 2005–06 to 2006–07. Seed priming improved the emergence and vigour of the wheat crop which helped to establish a good plant stand, and in turn led to significantly higher grain yield (17%) over non-primed. Cultivars differ significantly in their performance. Raj-3765 recorded 14% higher grain yield over HD-2189 and 25% higher to Lok-1. Farmers’ opinioned that seed priming helped in hastening germination, maturity and harvest and reduced the adverse effect of dry spell in wheat.