The Impact of Hydropriming and Halopriming on Seed Vigor and Germination of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Seeds at High Temperature

Abstract

Seed priming techniques have been widely used to enhance germination, increase germination uniformity and improve seedling establishment. This study was designed to assess the impact of hydropriming or halopriming with 10, 25, 50, or 100 mM NaCI on the seed germination of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) under heat stress conditions. All treatments significantly improved the seed vigor as indicated by increased germination percentage (G%), mean germination time (MGT), germination rate index (GRI), and coefficient velocity of germination (CVG) of primed seeds compared with unprimed ones. All treatments except priming with 10 mM NaCl considerably increased the mean germination rate (MGR) and a germination value (GV) above that of the control. Overall, 100 mM NaCl was superior to the other treatments in improving the measured indices.