Effect of Seed Priming Treatments on Germination and Growth of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench)

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted to evaluate the effects of different seed priming agents and durations on germination, seedling vigour, and growth of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench). The experiment was carried out in 2022 at the Horticulture Farm, S.K.N. College of Agriculture, Jobner, Rajasthan, using a randomised block design with three replications. Thirteen treatments comprising an unprimed control and seed priming with distilled water, NaCl (2%), PEG (5%), and GA₃ (200 ppm) for 6, 12, and 24 h were evaluated under laboratory and field conditions. Seed priming significantly enhanced germination, seedling vigour, and vegetative growth compared with the unprimed control. Among all treatments, GA₃ at 200 ppm for 24 h (T₁₂) recorded the highest germination percentage (91.20%), seedling length (40.06 cm), vigour index-I (3654), fresh weight (1.13 g), dry weight (0.33 g), and vigour index-II (30.10). Under field conditions, the same treatment produced the maximum plant height at 45 DAS (94.45 cm) and at first pod harvest (166.01 cm), the highest number of branches per plant (2.20 and 4.94, respectively), and the largest leaf area (371.10 cm²). Although PEG 5% for 24 h (T₉) and GA₃ at 200 ppm for 12 h (T₁₁) exhibited performance comparable to T₁₂ for several traits, T₁₂ consistently recorded the highest values. The enhanced performance is attributed to improved metabolic activation, reserve mobilisation, and early seedling establishment induced by priming.