Seed priming enhances germination and seedling vigor of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) under suboptimal temperature stress
1Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, Distt. - Srinagar (J&K), India. 2Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India. E-mail: drkhan_387@skuastkashmirac.in
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2026.v28i01.34
The study was conducted at the Division of BSH, FoH, SKUAST-K, Srinagar, to ascertain the role of seed priming in mitigating the adverse effects of suboptimal low temperature on seed germination potential of chilli. Seeds of chilli cv. Kashmir Long-1 were primed in water for 30 hours (P2), -0.5 MPa PEG-6000 for 18 hours (P3), 8x diluted vermiwash for 30 hours (P4) and 5.0 mg L' melatonin for 30 hours (P5) at a temperature of 25±2 °C. Unprimed seeds were taken as control (P1) and tested for their germination potential at optimal (25±2°C) and suboptimal (17±2°C) temperatures. Five hundred seeds from each treatment, including the control, were cultured in Petri dishes lined with five layers of blotting paper. Seeds were also sown in nursery trays filled with soil and kept for germination at optimal (25±2°C) (C1) as well as suboptimal (17±2°C) (C2) temperatures. All the treatments were replicated thrice and arranged under CRD. The data indicate that the germination potential of chilli seeds significantly declined under suboptimal low temperature whereas different priming treatments tend to improve the germinability of seeds both under optimal and suboptimal temperatures but the positive effects of seed priming were more pronounced under suboptimal temperature condition. Moreover, under suboptimal temperature condition, osmopriming resulted in the highest values for FGP (96.00%), SEP (84.66%), RDW (0.17 g), SDW (0.04 g), TI (32.28), Leaf Chl (0.73 mg/g), CSI (94.80), TAA (46.71), and MSI (76.33), followed by melatonin priming, whereas the lowest values for these parameters were observed in the control. The highest values of these attributes were coupled with the lowest T50G and T50E. Osmopriming with -0.5 MPa PEG-6000 for 18 hours proved most effective in enhancing germination, seedling emergence, seedling vigour and physiological resilience of chilli cv. Kashmir Long-1 under suboptimal low-temperature stress.
