Effect of seed priming on growth and performance of Vigna radiata L. under induced drought stress

Abstract

Seed priming is an important modern technology that improves quick and uniform emergence, high vigor and better yields, mainly in green vegetables and angiosperms. The present study was aimed to determine effect of seed priming under induce drought stress on legume plant, Vigna radiata (NIFA Mung-2017) variety. Seeds were obtained from Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Peshawar and sown in earthen pots having diameter 18 cm, height 20 cm and 1.5 cm thickness. These pots were filled with 2.0 kg air dried soil and silt (2:1) having EC 2.1 and pH 6.7 in triplicates in the green house of the Department of Botany, University of Peshawar, Pakistan. The designed experiment contain nine treatments each having three replicates, the seeds of first three treatments weren't primed, while the seeds of next three treatments were primed with Polyethylene glycol (PEG), similarly seeds of last three treatments were primed with 4 °C. Drought stress of seven days and fourteen days were induced during the experiment to all non-primed, PEG primed and thermo-primed treatments. Seed priming with PEG increased the seedling vigor index while thermo-priming showed non-significant effect. Induced drought stress significantly affected vegetative growth and the physiological characters while antioxidant enzymes Peroxidase (POD) and Superoxide dismutase (SOD) resulted more in seven days drought and reported maximum in fourteen days drought.