Effects of Seed Priming on Seedling Growth, Vigour, and Protein Content in Field Pea (Pisum sativum L.)
Ravisankar Dubey
*
Department of Seed Science & Technology, CSAUAT, Kanpur, India.
Shweta
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, CSAUAT, Kanpur, India.
C. L. Maurya
Department of Seed Science & Technology, CSAUAT, Kanpur, India.
Sarvendra Kumar
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, CSAUAT, Kanpur, India.
P. K. Singh
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, CSAUAT, Kanpur, India.
Rajeev Kumar
Department of Crop Physiology, CSAUAT, Kanpur, India.
Pratiksha Raj
Department of Seed Science & Technology, CSAUAT, Kanpur, India.
Shalini Dixit
Department of Seed Science & Technology, CSAUAT, Kanpur, India.
Shivam Chaturvedi
Department of Seed Science & Technology, CSAUAT, Kanpur, India.
Arun Pratap
Department of Seed Science & Technology, CSAUAT, Kanpur, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Seed priming can improve early seed performance, but responses may differ among priming agents and genotypes. This study evaluated two field-pea varieties, KPMR-522 (V1) and Rachana (V2), under six seed treatments: T1, untreated control; T2, hydropriming; T3, KNO₃ at 3%; T4, GA₃ at 0.01%; T5, NAA at 0.01%; and T6, Panchagavya at 5%. The experiment was conducted during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 rabi seasons using a 2 × 6 factorial completely randomised design with four replications. Root length, shoot length, seedling length, seedling dry weight, seedling vigour indices I and II, and seed protein content were evaluated. In the pooled analysis, the highest root length (16.31 cm), seedling dry weight (0.251 g), and protein content (26.28%) occurred with GA₃ at 0.01%. KNO₃ at 3% produced the highest seedling length (29.94 cm) and seedling vigour index I (2831.62). Panchagavya at 5% produced the highest shoot length (14.80 cm) and seedling vigour index II (23.46); for these traits, its pooled response was statistically comparable with KNO₃ for shoot length and with KNO₃ and GA₃ for vigour index II. Significant variety × treatment interactions were observed, demonstrating that treatment responses depended on genotype. Under the conditions tested, KNO₃, GA₃, and Panchagavya showed complementary advantages for different seedling and seed-quality traits; broader validation across seed lots and environments is required before general agronomic recommendations are made.
Keywords: Field pea, seed priming, potassium nitrate, gibberellic acid, Panchagavya, seedling vigour, protein content