Effect of Hydro-Priming and Pre-Germinating Rice Seed on the Yield and Terminal Moisture Stress Mitigation of Rain-Fed Lowland Rice

Terminal moisture stress is one of the major problems constraining rain-fed lowland rice production in north-western Ethiopia. A field experiment was conducted in 2010 and 2011 at Fogera plains to study the effect of hydro-priming and pre-germinating rice seed on the yield and response of the crop to terminal moisture stress. A factorial combination of eight seed treatments and three sowing times were studied in RCB design with three replications. Data on crop phenology, shoot biomass, leaf area, number of productive and unproductive tillers, filled and unfilled spikeletes, plant height, biomass yield, thousand seed weight, and grain yield were collected and analyzed. The results revealed that planting pre-germinated seeds as well as seeds soaked and dried for 24 hrs at the local (farmers’) sowing time resulted in significantly earlier seedling emergence, heading, and maturity. Higher numbers of productive tillers, filled spikeletes, leaf area index, crop growth rate, net assimilation rate, grain yield, biomass yield, and harvest index were recorded in response to planting pre-germinated seeds followed by seeds soaked and dried for 24 hrs at farmers’ sowing time. The present study concluded that planting pre-germinated seeds or hydro-primed seeds soaked and dried for 24 hrs could be practiced as the first and second best alternatives for rice production on Fogera plains in northwestern Ethiopia.