Seed priming alleviates the detrimental effects of moisture stress during seed germination of chilli (Capsicum annum L.)

The study was conducted during 2018–19 at SKUAST-K, Srinagar with an aim to improve moisture stress tolerance during germination and seedling establishment in chilli using different seed priming techniques. The data obtained indicate that the germination potential of chilli seeds significantly declined under moisture stress conditions as compared to control. However, different priming treatments improved seed germinability under both normal and moisture stress conditions. Under moisture stress, priming with melatonin (D2×P4) resulted in the highest values for FGP (90.66 %), SEP (87.33 %), RDW (0.15 g), SDW (0.055 g), TI (46.28), leaf chlorophyll (0.87 mg/g), CSI (97.92), RWC (79.50 %) and proline content (29.02 µmol/g), followed by osmopriming, whereas the lowest values for these parameters were observed in the control. The highest values of these attributes were coupled with the lowest T50G and T50E values (8.33 and 11.33 days, respectively). Under normal conditions, vermipriming gave the highest FGP (98.67) and SEP (93.33), followed by melatonin, whereas under moisture stress, melatonin priming achieved the highest FGP (90.66) and SEP (87.33), followed by vermipriming, indicating that vermipriming excelled in normal conditions while melatonin was more effective under stress.