Effect of seed priming on germination and seedling growth in Amlook (Diospyros lotus L.)

To investigate the effect of seed priming on enhancement of germination and seedling growth in amlook (Diospyros lotus L.) was done at Department of Seed Science and Technology, Dr YS Parmar UHF, Nauni, Solan during the year 2019-20. Under field conditions, there were eleven different seed priming treatments i.e. GA3 (250, 500, 750 ppm), Thiourea (2500, 5000, 7500 ppm), KNO3 (2500, 5000, 7500 ppm), hydro-priming and control. Among all treatments GA3 @ 500 ppm significantly enhanced the seed germination, seedling height, seedling diameter, number of leaves per seedling, leaf area, leaf chlorophyll content, fresh weight of shoots and roots, dry weight of shoots and roots, total root length, biomass of seedlings, SVI-I, SVI-II, survival rate and number of graftable seedlings. This treatment also significantly increased the days taken to germination. Therefore, seed primed with GA3 @ 500 ppm could be recommended for improving the germination and seedling growth in amlook.