Germination and Seedling Development of Cucumber are Enhanced by Priming at Low Temperature

Abstract

Poor seed germination is a common phenomenon at suboptimal temperatures. Several priming treatments have been reported to enhance germination percentage under low-temperature sowings in various crop seeds. In this study, seed priming was carried out with KNO3, K2HPO4, and NaCl in concentrations of 0%, 1%, 2.5%, and 5% w/v and subsequent germination at incubation temperatures of 15 and 25°C on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L., cv. Super dominos) seed using a completely randomized design with three replications. Results indicated interaction between priming solution material, priming solution concentration, and incubation temperature affecting germination percentage, seedling fresh and dry weights, and seedling root volume. Priming did not benefit germination at 25°C. Priming with K2HPO4 at 15°C had little beneficial effect at higher solution concentrations and was generally less than all other materials at 15°C. When the priming material was KNO3, the control had seedling fresh weight values lower than the 1% and 5% concentrations. At 15°C, over all priming materials, seedling fresh weight, dry weight, and root volume were better than for controls. For K2HPO4 and KNO3 there were no differences in seedling dry weight between temperatures. For all priming materials seedling dry weight was lower at 15°C than at 25°C. It is recommended that KNO3 and NaCl be used as suitable priming material to enhance cucumber seed germination at low temperature.