Enhancement of Germination and Emergence of Hot Pepper Seeds by Priming with Acetyl Salicylic Acid

The effect of priming using priming solution supplemented with acetyl salicylic acid was investigated in terms of germination and seedling emergence performance of hot pepper ( Capsicum frutescens var. Exotica) seeds. Seeds were primed in priming solution with KNO 3 only, KNO 3 + 0.1mM ASA, KNO 3 + 0.5 mM ASA and KNO3 + 1 mM ASA for 6 days in a dark cabinet under ordinary room condition. Following priming, seeds were immediately subjected to germination test for 14 days and emergence test for 27 days. Primed seeds significantly improved the initial germination percentage, the speed of germination, the height of seedlings, shoot fresh and dry weight and the number of leaves compared to unprimed seeds. Priming seeds with KNO 3 solution only had significantly highest initial germination percentage of 97%, the speed of germination of 49.28, and final germination percentage of 100% in the germination test conducted. In the seedling emergence test, significantly, the highest final germination percentage of 99% was observed in seeds primed in KNO 3 and 0.5 ASA solution. As to speed of germination, height of seedlings, and shoot fresh weight, seeds primed in KNO 3 only had significantly got the highest results of 5.91, 11. 67 cm. and 16.93 grams, respectively. In terms of survival capacity of seedlings, seeds primed in KNO 3 + 0.1mM ASA had the highest seedling survival of 98.67 % and highest shoot dry weight of 1.50 grams. The highest number of leaves was from seeds primed in KNO 3 only and in KNO 3 +1 mM ASA. These results show the important role of priming in the germination attributes of hot pepper seeds. Although priming with KNO 3 only had the most significant results among the parameters measured, an addition of 0.1 mM ASA and 0.5 mM ASA to the priming solution improved the survival ability of the seedlings by 5.67% and 6% as well enhanced the final germination by 3% from seeds primed with KNO3 alone and by 23% on unprimed seeds, respectively. Keywords : hot pepper, priming, acetyl salicylic acid, germination, speed of germination, initial germination percentage, final germination percentage.