Germination and seedling growth of rice seeds cv. Riceberry as affected by priming with KNO3 and KH2PO4

Abstract

     Riceberry rice (rice seeds cv. Riceberry) is highly nutritious and has many anti-oxidants. Therefore, it is in high demand for consumption in order to promote health. Nevertheless, degradation of quality Riceberry rice seed is a problem when the seeds are kept for a long time. This results in a lower germination rate and could affect the quality and the production of Riceberry rice. Therefore, improving the quality of Riceberry rice seeds with priming before storing the seeds is necessary in order to be able to store them for a longer period of time. The experiment was conducted at the Seed Technology Laboratory, Faculty of Agricultural Production, Maejo University. The experiment results are as follows. Seeds primed with all methods did not grow into unusual seedlings compared to seeds that were not primed. More seeds primed with 1.0% of KNO₃ survived compared to seeds that were not primed. Additionally, seeds primed with 0.1% of KH₂PO₄ had a higher speed of radical emergence, better germination, and a higher speed of germination compared to the seeds that were not primed and the differences were statistically significant. At the same time, when tested under greenhouse condition, seeds primed with 1% of KNO₃ and 2.0% of KH₂PO₄ had longer shoot lengths, longer root lengths, and improved total seedling quality compared to the seeds that were not primed. The differences are statistically significant.