Effect of seed priming on growth and yield of late sown wheat (Triticum aestivum) in central plain region of Punjab

Abstract

Poor seed germination affects growth and yield of crop under late sown conditions. Therefore, this research was conducted to study the effect of seed priming on growth and yield of late sown wheat at student's Research Farm, Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College, Amritsar, India during rabi 2020-21 and 2021-22. The experiment was set up in a randomised block design which included 10 treatments and three replications. Late sown variety PBW 752 of wheat was used during experiment. The results showed that using different treatments of seed priming had no significant effect on parameters i.e. test weight, harvest index and protein content but other parameters like plant height, dry matter accumulation, leaf area index, number of tillers, number of effective tillers, spikelets per spike, grains per ear, biological yield, grain yield and straw yield were significantly affected by seed priming. In the treatment of seed priming with potassium nitrate @ 10,000 ppm recorded highest grain yield (34.9 q/ha), biological yield (87.67 q/ha), effective tillers per metre row (50.30), spike length (9.50 cm) and number of grains per spike (38.20). The results of this study allowed us to draw the conclusion that wheat grain production can be improved by seed priming under late sown conditions.