The effect of halo- and hydro-priming on germination characteristics of millet seeds under salinity stress

Abstract

Low seed germination and seedling emergence is one of the main problems in saline areas. Seed priming technique has been known as a challenge to improve germination and seedling emergence under different environmental stresses. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of seed priming with NaCl and water on growth and seed reserve utilization of millet seeds under salinity stress. Treatments were combinations of four levels of salinity stress (0, -4, -8 and - 12 bar) and three levels of seed priming and control with three replicates. Results showed that with increase in salinity stress, germination components such as germination percentage, germination index, mean time to germination, normal seedling percentage, seedling length, seedling dry weight of utilized (mobilized) seed and seed reserve utilization efficiency decreased, but seed priming showed lower reduction. The highest germination characteristics and seed reserve utilization was obtained by halopriming in control conditions. It is concluded that priming results in improvement in germination components of millet in salinity stress conditions.