Effect of Seed Priming on Germination and Seedling Growth of Pepper

Abstract

Study on the effect of seed priming on germination and seedling growth of pepper cultivar Bang Chang was carried out. The experiment was designed in completely randomized design that composed of 11 treatments. Seeds were soaked in reverse osmosis (RO) water and chemical solutions followed as (1) RO water + non-incubation (2) RO water + incubation (3) 0.02% salicylic acid (SA) + non-incubation (4) 0.02% SA + incubation (5) 0.2% smoke water (SW) + non-incubation (6) 0.2% SW + incubation (7) 3% KNO₃ + non-incubation (8) 3% KNO₃ + incubation (9) -1.5 MPa polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 + non-incubation (10) -1.5 MPa PEG 6000 + incubation and (11) non-primed seeds (control). The results showed that primed seeds with the 3% KNO3 solution plus incubation for 24 hours had the high germination and showed the fastest of mean germination time. Moreover, primed seeds with the 0.02% salicylic acid solution plus incubation for 24 hours had the highest seedling growth at 28 days after sowing.