EFFECT OF SEED PRIMING ON GERMINATION, EMERGENCE OF SEEDLINGS AND GRAIN YIELD OF SORGHUM

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted; the first one was at the lab. of the graduate studies and the second one was at the field of Field Crop Department - College of Agriculture- University of Baghdad/ Al- Jadiriyah during the fall season of 2015. The objective was to improve the germination characteristics of seeds of different sorghum cultivars and speed up their field emergence by seed priming technique with plant hormones and vitamins and its relationship with the growth and grain yield. The design was Randomized complete Block (RCBD) with split- plot arrangement and three replicates. The three cultivars (i.e.Rabeh, Abosabaen and Inqath) occupied the main plots, while seed priming treatments {i.e.seed soaking with:gibberellic acid (600 mg L-1), salicylic acid (50mg L-1),cytokinin (100mg L-1) and ascorbic acid (30mgL-1)} for 24 hours and control treatment (dry seed) occupied the sub-plots. Primed seed with gibberellicacid significantly gave the highest values of germination speed (63.6%), standard germination percentage (83.0%), radical length(2.69cm) root dry weight (0.0540g), shoot length (11.65cm), shoot dry weight (0.096g), seedling dry weight (0.151 g) and seedling vigor (12.04) compared with the other priming treatments and unprimed seeds which gave the lowest values of these characters, respectively.