Seed Priming Improves Agronomic Trait Performance under Flooding and Non-flooding Conditions in Rice with QTL SUB1

Abstract

Farmers in South East Asia are adopting rice crop establishment methods from transplanting to direct wet or dry seeding as it requires less labour and time and comparatively less energy than transplanting. In contrast to irrigated condition, in rainfed lowland, direct seeding is a common practice. Early flooding controls weeds but decreases seedling establishment in direct seeded rice. Anaerobic germination is an important trait to counteract damages caused by early flooding. Management options which can help in crop establishment and improve crop growth under flooding might remove the constraints related to direct seeding. The investigation was carried out with two near isogenic lines Swarna and SwarnaSub1. Swarna-Sub1 is tolerant to submergence whereas Swarna is susceptible. Seed priming was done with water and 2% Jamun (Syzygium cumini) leaf extract, and it improved seedling establishment under flooding. Acceleration of growth occurred due to seed pretreatment, which resulted longer seedling and greater accumulation of biomass. Seed priming greatly hastened the activities of total amylase and alcohol dehydrogenase in Swarna-Sub1 than in Swarna. Swarna-Sub1 outperformed Swarna when the plants were cultivated under flooding. Weed biomass decreased significantly under flooding compared to non-flooding conditions. Seed priming had positive effects on yield and yield attributing parameters both under non-flooding and early flooding conditions.

Seed priming techniques in field crops -A review

“…Mean values showed that early emergence (5.952 days), maximum germination percentage (88.14), survival percentage (89.96), plant height (31.24 cm), leaf area (63.12 cm 2 ), leaf yield (14.667 tons/ha) and 100 seed weight (1.00 g) were observed in plots in which seeds were soaked in SSP+Na 2 CO 3 solution. An experiment was conducted by Sarkar (2012) to study the effect of seed priming under Flooded and Nonflooded Conditions in Rice. Seed priming was done with water and 2% Jamun (Syzygium cumini) leaf extract.…”

Improvement in anaerobic germination potential and grain yield of rice (oryza sativa) through seed priming

“…Soaking of seeds at around 30 0 C for 17 hours initiated the germination process. Enzymes associated with germination process were synthesized during imbibitions (Sarkar, 2012). When such seeds are dried upon, the metabolites / enzymes needed for germination go for hibernation (Farooq et al, 2011).…”

“…In a less span of time, seedlings pierced the soil surface and entered flood water environment. Upon reach on the water zone, coleoptiles got needed oxygen from the flooded water and continued to grow (Sarkar, 2012). Each seed priming agent except sodium peroxide impacted favourably.…”

“…Stagnation of 5-10 cm of water on the surface of the field for 10 days or more severely restricted the establishment (Das et al, 2004;Ismail et al, 2009). Seed priming, an old age practice, was applied to improve the germination capacity in rice to encounter the abiotic stresses (Farooq et al, 2011;Sarkar, 2012). Therefore, in the present investigation, an attempt has been made to assess the effectiveness of seed priming and seed coating in improving germination potential of rice under submerge condition with two near isogenic lines IR64 and IR64-Sub1 in relation to yield and yield attributing parameters under direct sown field condition.…”

Recent Advances in Seed Enhancements

“…A very few reports showing no yield improvement by seed priming are available [136,137]. Seed priming improved yield is due to reduced weed biomass, higher leaf area index and panicles/m 2 in aerobic and submerged rice, respectively [132,138,139], improved crop nutritional status of nutrients primed in maize under low temperature stress [127], comparatively better dry matter production with higher tissue Zn concentration with Zn seed priming in rice [140], reduced spikelet sterility in direct seeded rice irrigated with alternate wetting and drying (AWD) [131] and under system of rice intensification (SRI) condition with improved crop growth and higher tillering emergence [141]. Likewise, early planting spring maize stimulated seedling growth due to increased leaf area index, crop growth and net assimilation rates, and maintenance of green leaf area at maturity [135], better stand establishment in no tilled wheat under rice-wheat system [142], with enhanced tillering emergence and panicle fertility and with B nutrition under water saving rice cultivation [143], GA 3 priming induced modulation of ions uptake (Na + , K + ) and hormonal homeostasis under salinity in wheat [144], in combination with gypsum + FYM treatment by ameliorating effects on plant growth [145] and improving performance of poor quality wheat seeds under drought stress [146].…”