Influence of Seed Priming on Morphological Parameters in Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.)

A study comprising laboratory and field research studies were conducted at the Department of Seed Science and Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed to be) University, Bhubaneswar in 2022-23 to evaluate the relative effectiveness of different seed priming treatments and soaking duration enhancement to improve groundnut seed production and quality maintenance. The field study was set up using randomized block design (RBD) with three replications and eight priming treatments. For the experiment, groundnut seeds of the Devi variety were procured from a self-help group (SHG) located in the region of Pipili, Puri, Odisha.

Different priming treatments were applied to the seeds, including; Untreated (control, T₁), hydro priming (4 hours, T₂), 1% Na₂HPO₄ (4 hours, T₃), 1% CaCl₂ (4 hours, T₄), 1% KCL (4 hours, T₅), 0.5% Borax (4 hours, T₆), 25 ppm Gibberellic acid (4 hours, T₇), 0.5% KNO₃ (4 hours, T₈). The treatments mentioned above were used for seed priming and seeds were then dried back until their moisture content was the same as before.

Plant growth parameters showed that seeds primed with 1% CaCl₂ had earlier 50% flowering and maturity, while seeds primed with 25 ppm GA₃ had the maximum plant height. Additionally, seeds primed with CaCl₂ showed an increase in yield attributing parameters, such as the number of pods per plant, pod weight, number of seeds per pod and test weight of seeds, which increased the yield per plant and per hectare.