Dr Harpreet Kaur VirkBola, Simranpreet Singh2024-05-312024-05-312024Bola, Simranpreet Singh (2024). Emergence, Growth, Productivity and Quality Enhancement Through Seed Priming and Foliar Application of Chemicals in Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] (Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation). Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810209567The investigation entitled, “Emergence, growth, productivity and quality enhancement through seed priming and foliar application of chemicals in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]” was conducted at two different locations simultaneously viz., Pulses Research Farm, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and Regional Research Station, Ballowal Saunkhri, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, during kharif 2021 & 2022 and in vitro studies were conducted in Seed Physiology Laboratory, Director (Seeds), Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. The soil of Ludhiana and Ballowal Saunkhri was loamy sand and sandy loam in texture, respectively, with normal pH and electrical conductivity, medium organic carbon and available potassium, low available nitrogen and high phosphorus. Under the present study, three experiments were conducted, of which the experiment I was conducted in factorial completely randomized design replicated four times and experiment II & III were conducted in factorial randomized complete block design and randomized complete block design, respectively, both replicated three times using the soybean variety SL 958. The experiment I had four temperature levels (25, 30, 35 and 40°C) and six seed priming treatments [control, hydropriming, osmo-priming with PEG 6000 solution of osmotic potentials -0.5, -1.0, -1.5 and -2.0 MPa]. The experiment II was consisted of two dates of sowing (5 June and 25 June) and six seed priming treatments [absolute control (without seed priming), polyethylene glycol (PEG)-6000 solution @ -1.5 MPa, Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, Bradyrhizobium japonicum + Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, Bradyrhizobium japonicum + PEG @ -1.5 MPa, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans + PEG @ -1.5 MPa and Bradyrhizobium japonicum + Pseudomonas oryzihabitans + PEG @ -1.5 MPa]. The experiment III had ten foliar spray treatments [absolute control, water spray, potassium nitrate 1.5%, NPK 1.5%, boron 0.3%, ammonium molybdate 0.5%, thiourea 750 ppm, urea 2.0%, muriate of potash 0.5% and salicylic acid 100 ppm]. Results revealed that in experiment I, seed priming with PEG @ -1.5 MPa for 6 hours improved speed of germination, final germination %, total seedling length, seedling dry weight, seedling vigour indices, dehydrogenase activity and the number of stained seeds, while reduced mean germination time, the number of partially & unstained seeds and electrical conductivity of primed seeds. Seed priming with PEG @ -1.5 MPa performed significantly better at a temperature of 30°C over 25°C, 35°C and 40°C. In experiment II, during both years, priming of seeds with Bradyrhizobium japonicum + Pseudomonas oryzihabitans significantly improved emergence, growth, nodulation and yield of soybean at both Ludhiana and Ballowal Saunkhri. The 5 June sown crop recorded significantly higher growth attributes, symbiotic traits and seed yield of soybean than 25 June sowing at both the locations during both years. In experiment III, foliar application of boron 0.3% at Ludhiana and muriate of potash 0.5% at Ballowal Saunkhri applied at flowering and pod initiation stages improved growth (plant height & dry matter accumulation), yield attributes (number of pods plant-1, number of filled pods plant-1 and 100-seed weight), quality parameters (total soluble sugar, starch and protein content) and seed yield of soybean.EnglishThesis