CHARACTERISTICS EVALUTION OF FIELD EMERGENCE IN PRIMED SEED OF SORGHUM VARAITIES SALT STRESS CONDITIONS

Abstract

An experiment conducted in pots under field conditions in the fall seasons of 2017 and 2018 at the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, to improve the field emergence in sorghum, in which three factors were studied. 1st factor was the variety (three varieties: Inqath, Rabeh and Buhoth70). 2nd factor was priming treatment (unprimed seed and primed seed soaked for 12 hours in a solution containing 300 + 70 ml L-1 of gibberellic and salicylic acids, respectively). 3rd factor was saline stress (tap water as control (1.26), 6, 9 and 12 dS m-1). RCBD design was used with four replicates. The results showed that Buhoth70 cultivar exceeded the others; also the primed seed exceeded the unprimed seed in the traits of the first and final count of emergence, daily emergence rate, emergence energy, emergence rate index and emergence index in both seasons. The control treatment was superior in the above traits, while the values of these traits decreased as the saline increased, and no emergence accrued at the highest concentration (12 dS m-1) in both seasons. The cultivars varied in their ability to withstand salt stress at the same stress level, and that the seed priming treatment has improved their performance to withstand salt stress compared to the unprimed in both seasons. It can conclude that there is a role for genotype and seed priming in improving seedling performance to tolerate salt stress.