Seed priming with NaCl improves germination in maize under saline soil conditions

Soil salinity is considered crucial for seed germination, seedling growth, and crop production in arid and semi-arid regions. Seed priming can be an effective solution to improve maize germination and growth, under salinity stress. An experiment was conducted to study the effect of seed priming with NaCl and salinity stress on germination and growth of maize variety Arun-2. Before sowing, eighty maize seeds were soaked in 5g/L aqueous NaCl solution for 12 hours at 27-degree Celsius. Primed and unprimed seeds were sown in 10-liter capacity plastic pots and watered with 200mL of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 g/L saline solutions at two days intervals. Germination percentage, shoot length, and number of leaves per plant were measured to access the germination and growth parameters. The results showed that priming seeds with NaCl solution significantly (P

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