Effect of seed treatment on the emergence of inbred lines of maize (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

The emergence time and emergence percentage of four inbred lines with different degrees of chilling tolerance (Mo 17, HMv 5316, HMv 5301, HMv 5478) and the dry mass of young shoots were examined in a seed dressing experiment carried out in pots and sown early under field conditions, on soil infected with pathogens or free of infection (control). The advantage of seed dressing was manifested for all the traits examined, with the exception of emergence time, and the dressing agents were found to exhibit a certain degree of variety specificity. The time to emergence was determined chiefly by the genotype of the inbred lines. Differences were observed when the inbred lines were ranked on the basis of the emergence time and the emergence percentage. This was in agreement with the fact that no correlation was observed between the emergence percentage and the emergence time. Genotype HMv 5316 proved to be best on the basis of emergence time and HMv 5301 for emergence percentage. The poorest results for all the traits examined were recorded for Mo 17, which is in agreement with the poor chilling tolerance of this inbred line. In summary, the following conclusions can be drawn: if the chilling tolerance and growth vigour of the genotypes are to be satisfactorily described, traits characteristic of initial plant development (dry mass of the shoots, size of the leaf area, etc.) should also be considered in addition to the emergence time and emergence percentage.