Comparison of Seed Priming Techniques with Regard to Seedling Emergence and Pythium Damping-Off in Sugar Beet

Abstract

Three seed priming techniques were compared for their effects on earliness, rate, and uniformity of seedling emergence of sugar beet in infested and uninfested soils. Seed was osmoprimed with -1.5 MPa NaCl or -1.2 MPa PEG 8000, or solid-matrix-primed (SMP) with water and a hydrous silicate clay as the solid substrate. Washed and untreated seeds were included as controls. Seed was planted in soil infested with Pythium ultimum or in uninfested soil, and stand data were recorded for approximately 15 days (...)