Effect of seed invigoration techniques on crop establishment, yield and storability of late sown wheat varieties
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Date
2020-02
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G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand)
Abstract
In the present investigation, laboratory and field experiments were conducted in which laboratory experiment was performed at Seed Physiology lab, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture and field experiment was carried out at Breeder Seed Production Centre of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology during Rabi season 2018 and 2019 in a factorial randomized block design with three replications. The seeds of ten late sown wheat varieties (UP 2565, DBW 71, UP 2526, PBW 550, UP 2425, PBW 226, UP 2338, UP 2554, PBW 343, UP 2572) were screened on the basis of their physical, physiological and biochemical seedling vigour parameters. Three varieties i.e. UP 2565, UP 2425 and UP 2338 were categorized high vigour, medium vigour and low vigour respectively. Selected varieties were treated with six seed invigoration techniques i.e. untreated, magnetic field of 100 and 200 mT for 1 hour, hydro-priming for 12 hours, thought energy through BK RYM for four hours and air plasma for 6 minutes. Seeds were stored in polylined cloth bag and seed quality in terms of physiological, biochemical was measured at the interval of 45 days until germination percentage of each treatment declined upto 80%. Same varieties treated with invigoration techniques sown in field to study their growth and development parameters. Under storage, all the three late sown varieties resulted in non-significant increment in seed quality parameters among each other while seeds treated with invigoration techniques performed better than untreated seeds. Plasma treatment and MF 200 mT and hydro-priming improved germination per cent, speed of germination, seedling length, seedling dry weight and vigour of seeds significantly over all the other seed invigoration techniques including control. These particular techniques also improved and maintained cell wall integrity of seed surface and viability of seeds throughout the storage indicated through EC of seed leachate and dehydrogenase activity. Water imbibition, mobilization efficiency and amylase activity enhanced due to plasma and MF 200 mT seed treatment. Seed quality declined due to progression of storage time but both of these techniques resulted in slower drop of seed quality in comparison to untreated seed. In field condition, higher emergence as well as growth parameters was registered in medium vigour variety UP 2425 and plasma, MF 200 mT and hydro-priming techniques. Yield attributes and yield increased significantly under medium vigour variety UP 2425 while in case of seed invigoration techniques, Plasma, MF 200 mT and hydropriming performed well over other techniques including control. Intensity and duration of exposure of seed invigoration techniques vary crop to crop and require proper optimization for seed quality enhancement.