Seed priming influences on yield and protein content of wheat sown at different time

Abstract

The aim of this field experiment conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, was to investigate the impact of different seed priming techniques and sowing dates on the yield and quality of wheat. The study aimed to identify the most effective seed priming technique and optimal sowing date to enhance wheat productivity and minimize yield reduction. The experiment employed a split plot design with two factors: seed priming techniques (no priming, hydropriming with distilled water, osmopriming with PEG, and halopriming with CaCl2) and sowing dates (November 20, December 05, and December 20). The trial was conducted from November 2019 to April 2020 at the research field. The study consisted of three replications for each treatment combination. Osmopriming exhibited the most favorable results among all priming techniques, showing significantly higher values for effective tillers hill-1 (3.91), number of grains spike-1 (43.82), number of spikelets spike-1 (16.16), grain yield (3.87 tons hectare-1), biological yield (6.02 t ha-1), and harvest index (39.03%). No priming condition resulted in the highest protein content (12.11%), while osmopriming had the lowest protein content (11.77%). The sowing conducted on November 20 yielded the highest number of effective tillers hill-1 (3.57), number of grains spike-1 (42.49), number of spikelets spike-1 (15.75), grain yield (3.71 t ha-1), biological yield (9.70 t ha-1), and lowest protein content (11.74%). Sowing on December 20 resulted in the highest protein content (12.20%). Based on the study's findings, it can be concluded that the osmopriming technique, combined with sowing on November 20, offers the most promising approach to mitigate the yield reduction of wheat. This combination demonstrated the highest grain yield (4.23 t ha-1) compared to other treatments. Therefore, farmers and agricultural practitioners are recommended to adopt the osmopriming technique with a sowing date of November 20 for optimizing wheat production and enhancing overall crop quality.