Effect of Seed Enhancement Treatments on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Seed Quality

Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a key rabi pulse crop in India, primarily grown in semi-arid and tropical areas that are frequently affected by drought. The aim of present investigation was to find out the effect of seed enhancement treatment on different seed quality parameters in chickpea. The field experiment was conducted in Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) and storage experiment was taken in laboratory by using Factorial Completely Randomized Design (FCRD) with three replications. Among the tested varieties, Virat (V2) recorded the highest germination percentage (95.99%) and field emergence (92.41%), with the shortest time to emergence (7.57 days). Seed priming with sodium nitroprusside (SNP) @ 25 ppm + Vitavax 0.25% (T3), followed by potassium nitrate (KNO₃) @ 100 ppm + Vitavax 0.25% (T7), significantly improved both germination (up to 97.12%) and field emergence (up to 94.56%). Interaction effects revealed that the Virat variety treated with T3 and T7 exhibited superior performance, with a maximum field emergence of 96.17%. The findings suggest that SNP @ 25 ppm + Vitavax 0.25% is an effective seed treatment for enhancing the planting value and establishment of chickpea, especially under resource-limited conditions.