Seed Priming: New Comprehensive Approaches for an Old Empirical Technique

Abstract

Seed priming is a pre-sowing treatment which leads to a physiological state that enables seed to germinate more efficiently. The majority of seed treatments are based on seed imbibition allowing the seeds to go through the first reversible stage of germination but do not allow radical protrusion through the seed coat. Seeds keeping their desiccation tolerance are then dehydrated and can be stored until final sowing. During subsequent germination, primed seeds exhibit a faster and more synchronized germination and young seedlings are often more vigorous and resistant to abiotic stresses than seedlings obtained from unprimed seeds. Priming often involves soaking seed in predetermined amounts of water or limitation of the imbibition time. The imbibition rate could be somehow controlled by osmotic agents such as PEG and referred as osmopriming. Halopriming implies the use of specific salts while "hormopriming" relies on the use of plant growth regulators. Some physical treatments UV, cold or heat,.. also provide germination improvement thus suggesting that priming effects are not necessarily related to seed imbibition. " better understanding of the metabolic events taking place during the priming treatment and the subsequent germination should help to use this simple and cheap technology in a more efficient way.

Is dry soil planting an adaptation strategy for maize cultivation in semi-arid Tanzania?

“…In addition to planting dry seeds, seeds can be 'primed' with water, an enhancement method that might improve seed performance under stress conditions such as drought or when freshly harvested or aged seeds are used which might fail to germinate (Lutts et al 2016). Harris et al (1999) demonstrated how simple soaking seeds in water before sowing can increase the speed of germination and emergence, leading to better crop stands, and allow seedlings to grow much more vigorously.…”

Hydropriming of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) in Northern and Central Burkina Faso applying six hours of soaking and overnight drying of seeds

“…The general physiological effects of hydropriming have recently been reviewed (Lutts et al, 2016). The increase of the water potential in seeds caused by the soaking allows biochemical processes preparing the seed for germination to initiate: Mobilisation of energy and nutrients through the activity of amylases and other metabolic enzymes, and repair of cellular damage that occurred during storage of the seed (DNA, membranes, organelles, redox balances).…”

On-farm seed priming interventions in agronomic crops

“…Seed coating technologies are sophisticated and expensive (Sharma et al, 2015). Seed priming emerged as the most common method of presowing treatments (Parera & Cantliffe, 1994;Jisha et al, 2013;Soleimanzadeh, 2013;Paparella et al, 2015;Lutts et al, 2016;Wojtyla et al, 2016).…”

“…Slow and non-uniform germination of seeds induced the requirement of water-based seed priming. Hydropriming is a very simple, cost-effective, and eco-friendly technique which basically involves soaking seeds in water for a pre-determined time followed by re-drying to their initial moisture content (Farooq et al, 2006;Lutts et al, 2016). Submergence can also be performed in distilled water with or without aeration.…”