Effects of seed priming with gibberellic, salicylic acids and mycorrhizal inoculation on lentil (Lens culinaris L.) yield and its components

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of mycorrhizal inoculation and seed priming with plant growth regulators on yield and yield components of lentil as factorial base on the randomized complete block design in four replications at the research farm of Gonbad Kavous University of Iran during 2013–2014. First factor included application of the mycorrhiza at three levels (control, inoculated soil using Glomus intraradices and Glomus mosseae) and seed priming at five levels (hydro-priming with distilled water, seed priming with GA3 100 ppm, priming with SA 100 ppm, priming with GA3 100 ppm + SA 100 ppm and non-primed seed as control was the second factor. On the basis of results, days to 50% flowering was significantly decreased with the application of mycorrhizal inoculation along whole treatments of priming except G. mosseae in combination with both hormones level. It was also observed that combined treatments of Glomus intraradical inoculation with hydro priming caused most early flowering, the number of pods in the plant, ratio of the filled pod, grain weight of lentil eventually higher yields and harvest index of lentil over other treatments. Thus mycorrhizal inoculation can help to minimize synthetic herbicides and develop biofertilizer in sustainable agriculture.