Influence of hydro- and halo- priming on germination and seedling growth of cabbage under saline conditions

A study was conducted at vegetable seed Laboratory Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad to investigate the effect of halo and hydro-priming on seed germination and seedling growth of cabbage under saline conditions. Cabbage seeds were primed with five different salts i.e. KNO3, KH2PO4, KCl, NaCl, CaNO3, and water (Hydro-priming) for 2 hours in darkness at 24±1oC temperature. Both primed and unprimed seeds were irrigated with five different saline solutions [0 mM, 50 mM, 100 mM, 150 mM and 200 mM NaCl]. Results showed that priming treatments with KCl, KH2PO4 and KNO3 at different concentrations gave best results in terms of final germination percentage (FGP), time taken to 50 % germination (T50), germination index (GI), mean germination time (MGT) and seedling vigour index (SVI) as compared to unprimed seeds. However, enhanced salinity levels had harmful influence on almost all parameters under study. The present study exposed that under normal and saline conditions all priming treatments mainly KNO3 can be used to increase seed enactment in cabbage. However, further studies are needed to investigate the effects of halo priming on growth and yield of cabbage. Keywords:  Cabbage; Germination energy; Halo priming; Salinity http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2017.60002