Two field trials were conducted during the 2012 cropping season at the Fruits and Vegetable Teaching and Research Farm of the Department of Crop Science, Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (located on latitude N- N and longitude - ), to evaluate the effect of priming duration on the growth and yield of amaranth. Treatments consisted of four priming durations (2, 4, 6, and 8 hours) and control (where no priming was applied). The treatments were laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) replicated three times for the germination test and randomized complete block design (RCBD) for the field trial. Data were collected on days to 50% germination, percentage germination, days to 50% emergence, and percentage emergence. Results revealed significant effect of priming duration on days to 50% germination, percentage germination, and days to 50% emergence. Soaking seeds for 2 hours reduced the number of days to 50% germination and emergence and also recorded higher germination. Thus, from the findings of this study, it could be concluded that priming amaranth seeds for 2 hours could be applied to enhance amaranth production. 1. Introduction Amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus L.) is an important leaf vegetable crop cultivated throughout the tropics. The leaves are rich in vitamin A, calcium, and potassium. The seeds of grain amaranth are valued for their high protein content (up to 15%). Amaranth represents the largest source of nutrients of all the vegetables that can be grown in tropical Africa. The leaves of A. cruentus (edible part) represent 76% of the total fresh weight of shoots. One hundred grams contain 84？g water, 4.6？g protein, 1.8？g cellulose, 410？mg calcium, 8.9？mg iron, 5.7？mg beta-carotene, and 64？mg vitamin C [1]. Despite the role of amaranth as one of the sources of vitamins A and B, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, and some other dietary minerals such as calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, copper, and manganese [1], its Production in Nigeria still remains low as compared to other countries. There is therefore a need to improve its production to meet the demand of the consumers. Seed priming has been identified as the simplest method to improve establishment and subsequent performance of most crops in the tropics where favorable conditions during germination seldom occur. Seed priming prior to planting enhances germination and seedlings growth by controlling the imbibition and reducing the vagaries of adverse weather and soil condition [2]. Seed priming is a practical method to improve rates and uniformity of germination [3]. The effect of priming has
References
[1]
R. H. Raemaekers, Crop Production in Ttropical Africa, DGIC Belgium, 2001.
[2]
M. B. McDonald, “Seed deterioration: physiology, repair and assessment,” Seed Science and Technology, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 177–237, 1999.
[3]
C. A. Parera and D. J. Cantliffe, “Pre-sowing seed priming,” Horticultural Reviews, vol. 16, pp. 109–141, 1994.
[4]
A. S. Basra, S. Bedi, and C. P. Malik, “Accelerated germination of maize seeds under chilling stress by osmotic priming and associated changes in embryo phospholipids,” Annals of Botany, vol. 61, no. 5, pp. 635–639, 1988.
[5]
S. M. A. Basra, I. Afzal, R. A. Rashid, and A. Hameed, “Inducing salt tolerance in wheat by seed vigor enhancement techniques,” International Journal of Biology and Biotechnology, vol. 2, pp. 173–179, 2005.
[6]
C. M. Bray, P. A. Davison, M. Ashraf, and R. M. Taylor, “Biochemical changes during osmopriming of leek seeds,” Annals of Botany, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 185–193, 1989.
[7]
J. N. Berchie, H. Adu-Dapaah, J. Sarkodie-Addo et al., “Effect of seed priming on seedling emergence and establishment of four bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc.) landraces,” Journal of Agronomy, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 180–183, 2010.
[8]
L. J. Clark, W. E. Whalley, J. Ellis-Jones, K. Dent, and H. R. Rowsea, “On farm seed priming in maize: a physiological evaluation,” in Proceeding of the 7th Eastern and South Africa Regional Maize Conference, pp. 268–273, February 2001.
[9]
K. Mavi, S. Ermis, and I. Demir, “The effect of priming on tomato rootstock seeds in relation to seedling growth,” Asian Journal of Plant Sciences, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 940–947, 2006.
[10]
A. Moosavi, R. Tavakkol Afshari, F. Sharif-Zadeh, and A. Aynehband, “Effect of seed priming on germination characteristics, polyphenoloxidase, and peroxidase activities of four amaranth cultivars,” Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment, vol. 7, no. 3-4, pp. 353–358, 2009.
[11]
J. Cuartero, M. C. Bolarín, M. J. Asíns, and V. Moreno, “Increasing salt tolerance in the tomato,” Journal of Experimental Botany, vol. 57, no. 5, pp. 1045–1058, 2006.
[12]
A. G. Ojanuga, “Agro ecological zones of Nigerian MAPS,” National Special Programme on Food Security, FAO-UNESCO, 2004.
[13]
C. Ascherman-Koch, P. Hofmann, and A. M. Steiner, “Pre-sowing treatment for improving quality in cereals,” Germination and Vigor, Seed Science Technology, vol. 20, pp. 435–440, 1992.
[14]
A. Singh, R. Dahiru, and M. Musa, “Osmopriming duration influence on germination, emergence and seedling growth of sorghum,” Seed Technology, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 111–118, 2012.
[15]
C. Bailly, A. Benamar, F. Corbineau, and D. C？me, “Antioxidant systems in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seeds as affected by priming,” Seed Science Research, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 35–42, 2000.
