Morphological and Agronomic Characteristics of Common Beans Subjected to Seed Priming With Different Doses of N6-benzyladenine

Abstract

In field conditions, the more usual application of cytokinins is based mainly on seed treatment and foliar spraying. Nowadays, seed priming with plant growth regulators is a successful agricultural practice due to its easy application in annual crops, resulting in a higher vigor and production. In order to evaluate the effect of the treatment of common bean seeds with N6-benzyladenine (6-BA), in the morphophysiology and crop yield, an experiment was carried out in a greenhouse, in a completely randomized design with four replicates and five doses of 6-BA (0, 0.0375, 0.075, 0.1125 and 0.15 g kg-1 of seed). The growth regulator was applied to the seeds in order to cover their entire surface. At 30 days after emergence, the physiological parameters were increased as a function of the doses of 6-BA. On the other hand, at 30 and 45 days after emergence of the crop, there was a drastic reduction in nodulation with increased 6-BA doses, which resulted in the lower accumulation of leaf nitrogen, pod number, and common bean yield. The ranging doses till 0.15 g kg-1 of seed of the cytokinin 6-BA are not recommended in seed priming of common beans. However, the effective recommendation of cytokinin as a seed priming is still not determined, and studies about products and doses must be improved before recommendation.