Sodium Chloride Priming Improves Seed Germination and Initial Growth of Chili (Capsicum annuum L.)

Among various priming methods, "Halo priming" emerges as a simple and cost-effective agro-technique employed by farmers to mitigate several consequences. Hence, a laboratory experiment was conducted to assess the impact of sodium chloride (NaCl) priming on chili seed germination and initial seedling growth performances. Four concentration levels of NaCl solutions (1%, 5%, 10%, and 15% w/v basis) were utilized, with different immersion durations (3, 6, 9, and 12 hours) used as treatments. Petri dishes were arranged according to a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with tri-replicates. Germination parameters, including seed germination, mean germination time, coefficient of germination velocity, germination index, and seedling vigor index, were measured. Additionally, seedling parameters such as shoot length, root length, leaf area, plant fresh and dry weights were recorded. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA, and mean separation was conducted using Dunnett's test. Correlation analysis was performed to identify relationships among the tested parameters. Among the tested concentrations, the highest germination percentage (76.67±8.8%), germination index (31.08±4.0), coefficient of germination velocity (1.12±0.05), vigor index (2.68±0.14), and the lowest mean germination time (6.91±0.4 days) were reported in the 10% NaCl treatment. The 10% NaCl solution significantly enhanced seed germination-related parameters compared to hydro-priming. Furthermore, 10% NaCl treatment promoted initial seedling growth compared to hydro priming. Correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between shoot length and germination index. However, seed priming duration had no observable effect on chili seed germination.