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THE ROLE OF SEED PRIMING IN SEMI-ARID AREA FOR MUNG BEAN PHENOLOGY AND YIELD

AHMAD KHAN, SHAD KHAN KHALIL, AMIR ZAMAN KHAN, KHAN BAHADER MARWAT AND ASHFAQ AFZAL

Abstract: Patchy plant stand due to uneven germination is one of the major constraints in mung bean (Vigna radiata W.) production. Enhanced emergence and establishment of the mung bean crop are considered to be the most important factors contributing to the crop yield. Mung bean cultivars (NM-92 and NM-98) seed were primed for 6 and 12 hours in different solution of water and osmotic solution (ψ_o) of polyethylene glycol (PEG-8000) equivalent to 0, -0.2, -0.5 and -1.1 MPa (Mega Pascal). The primed seed along with control (un-primed) were sown in field experiments at the Research Farm of NWFP Agricultural University Peshawar during 2003 and 2004. Delayed phenological observations were recorded in NM-98 compared to NM-92, but no differences in yield and yield components were observed for both cultivars of mung bean except grains pod^-1 being higher for NM-98. Primed seed performed better when compared to control, and resulted in 12 % more grain yield. A decrease in osmotic potential in treatment solution from 0 to -1.1 MPa resulted in better performance, in terms of yield and yield components, but was not consistent. Significant interaction of Varieties x Duration x PEG Treatment for days to emergence, grain and biological yield suggest the differential response of each treatment levels over the other.  It was concluded that hydro-primed and/or seed primed in -0.5 MPa osmotic potential solution of PEG were better in phenology and yield than all other treatments.

NWFP Agricultural University,  Peshawar, Pakistan