Effects of different priming methods and duration on seedling characters in maize (Zea mays L.) Seeds

The experiment was conducted in Post Graduate Laboratory, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, SHUATS, Allahabad, U.P. during Rabi (2016), in order to standardize the best method of priming specific to maize. Three methods of priming viz., hydro priming, osmopriming and halo priming were evaluated by screening a range of durations and concentrations viz., T0 - Unprimed Control, T1 - Distilled water hydration (08 hrs), T2 - Distilled water hydration (12 hrs), T3 -Cacl2 at 1% (08 hrs), T4 - Cacl2 at 1% (12 hrs), T5 - Glycerol at 5% (08 hrs) T6 - Glycerol at 5% (12 hrs). It was found that all the priming methods showed significance difference with the control and the highest germination %, seedling length (cm), seedling fresh weight (g), seedling dry weight (g) and vigour indices were observed in T3 for CaCl2 at (08 hrs). The study helps to improve the quality of seeds with the help of seed priming treatments which are cost effective, nontoxic, economic and eco-friendly in use.