Influence of Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) hermetic bags on the longevity of primed and re-dried upland rice seeds

Poorly synchronized stand establishment is one of the major challenges in direct-seeded upland rice production. Seed priming techniques are recommended to achieve proper stand establishment through enhancing the physiological quality of rice seeds. However, limited studies are available on the longevity of rice seeds that are primed and then re-dried to their original moisture level and stored. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of hermetic bags on the longevity of hydro- and halo-primed upland rice seeds. NERICA-4 rice seeds were hydro-primed (soaked in distilled water for 24 h) and halo-primed using different concentrations of calcium chloride (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.00% (w/w) for 24 h, and re-dried to the original moisture, and compared with unprimed seeds. Both primed and unprimed seeds were stored in woven polypropylene or high-density polyethylene hermetic bags at 25 ± 3°C for up to 75 days. Results indicated that rice seeds treated with 1.0% (w/w) CaCl2 and subsequently re-dried showed significantly improved germination rates and seedling growth when stored in high-density polyethylene hermetic bags during subsequent storage periods. It was observed that storing primed and re-dried rice seed in an in high-density polyethylene hermetic bag readily maintained seed germination and seedling growth parameters for 75 days. Hence, seed producers may consider marketing of primed and re-dried rice seeds as an alternative approach by using appropriate storage methods.