Effect of priming treatment and storage containers to enhance the seed quality of tomato seeds

Abstract

A study was undertaken at the Department of Seed Science and Technology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, to investigate the Effect of priming treatment and storage containers to enhance the seed quality of tomato seeds. The experiment, conducted in 2021-2022, utilized a randomized complete block design to assess various seed priming techniques and their influence on tomato germination and morphological characteristics. Eighteen month-old seeds of tomato seeds were exposed to the following priming treatments T0: Control (untreated). T1: Priming with GA3 @ 25, 50 and 75 ppm for 24 hours and drying at room temperature. T2: Priming with KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate) @ 0.5 %, 1 %, and 1.5 % for 24 hours followed by drying at room temperature. T3: Priming with Ethanol @ 25, 50 and 75 ppm for 24 h and drying at room temperature. Within the various priming treatments, tomato seeds subjected to GA3 priming at a concentration of 50 ppm exhibited the highest rates of germination, seedling length, seedling dry weight, seed vigor index, viability percentage, and radicle emergence. Following closely were seeds primed with KNO3 at 1.5%. Conversely, ethanol at 50 ppm resulted in the lowest values for germination percentage, seedling length, seedling dry weight, seed vigor index, and viability percentage. Notably, GA3 priming at 50 ppm demonstrated a substantial improvement, enhancing tomato germination by 24.6% compared to unprimed seeds in 18-month-old seed samples.