Nutrient Priming in Different Maize Cultivars and Evaluation of Vigour Improvement Under Controlled Conditions
Laboratory and pot experiments were conducted to study the effect of seed priming on vigourand germination characteristics of different maize cultivars during the year 2011. The seeds of four maizecultivars viz. EV 7004Q, Islamabad Gold, Rakaposhi and Sohan-3 were primed using 0% P (dry seededcontrol), 0.6% P and 1.2% P solutions of KH2PO4 for 16 h. The experiment was laid out in CompleteRandomized Design (CRD) having three replicates. All the seed priming treatments significantly improvedthe plant vigour in terms of enhanced germination percentage, reduced mean germination time (MGT),improved root, shoot lengths and dry matter production. Among the four cultivars of maize the IslamabadGold performed best followed by Sohan-3. Highest germination (94.57%) and vigour index (VI) of 431.66was observed in Islamabad Gold where 1.2% P applied compared to dry seeded control. Nutrient seedpriming may be used to improve germination vigour and crop stand establishment under field conditionsleading to good yield targets in maize under rainfed conditions.