~ 1886 ~ International Journal of Chemical Studies 2020; 8(3): 1886-1891 P-ISSN: 2349–8528 E-ISSN: 2321–4902 www.chemijournal.com IJCS 2020; 8(3): 1886-1891 © 2020 IJCS Received: 14-03-2020 Accepted: 16-04-2020 N Punithavathi Associate Professor (Seed Science and Technology), Director (Rtd), Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduthurai, Tamil Nadu, India T Jeyaraj Associate Professor (Seed Science and Technology), Director (Rtd), Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduthurai, Tamil Nadu, India A Sabir Ahamed Professor (Seed Science and Technology), Horticultural College and Research Institute, (Women), Navalurkuttapattu, Trichy. Tamil Nadu, India Corresponding Author: N Punithavathi Associate Professor (Seed Science and Technology), Director (Rtd), Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduthurai, Tamil Nadu, India Standardization of seed primingon seed quality parameters in rice N Punithavathi, T Jeyaraj and A Sabir Ahamed DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/chemi.2020.v8.i3z.9481 Abstract Laboratory experiment was conducted to study standardization of seed priming with chemicals, bio control agents as well as plant growth regulators on seed quality parameters of rice. Seed priming, an effective seed invigouration method, has become a common seed treatment to increase the rate and uniformity of emergence and crop establishment in most vegetable and flower crops especially in advanced countries. The seeds of rice were given priming treatments viz., CaCl2, CaSO4,ZnSO4, FeSO4, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Azophos and Pungam leaf extract at 0.5 and 1.0% each and with GA3, IBA at both 10 and 20 ppm concentrations for 12 and 18h soaking durations and sown along with control under laboratory condition. The results revealed that seed priming with Azophos 1.0%, ZnSO4 1.0%, GA3 20ppm, Pseudomonas fluorescens 1.0%, CaSO4 1.0% and FeSO4 1.0% for 18h could be recommended as suitable priming treatments for enhancing germination and vigour of rice. Keywords: Priming, GA3, ZnSO4, germination, vigour index Introduction Rice (Oryza saiva L.) is the world’s most important staple food-grain grown in over 100 countries, consumed regularly by over two billion people and the primary source of protein for millions. India is the leading rice producing country in terms of area and is the second largest producer next to China. Rice plays an important role in food as well as livelihood security for almost every household, more so in India. To feed this estimated 1.6 billion population of India by 2050 calls for stepping up the current production of 106 mt of milled rice to 140 mt. Higher production and productivity of crop is possible only through use of good quality seeds and proper management practices. Good quality seeds imply vigour, uniformity and structural soundness besides its genetic and physical purity. Seed priming is a controlled hydration process that involves exposing seeds to low water potentials that restrict germination, but permits pre-germinative physiological and biochemical changes to occur (Heydecker and Coolbear, 1977; Bradford, 1986; Khan, 1992). The present study will accentuate on the effect of seed priming with various chemicals, growth regulators and biofertilizers on seed and seedling characteristics of Rice. Materials and methods The present study was carried out by using genetically pure seeds of rice varieties TNAU Rice TRY3 and Improved White Ponniobtained from the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, ADAC&RI, Trichy formed the basic materials for the study. The laboratory experiments were carried out in Seed Science and Technology laboratory, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, ADAC&RI, Trichy, Initially, the rice seeds were dried to bring down the moisture content to less than 13 percent and then cleaned with the help of suitable sieves and winnowed to obtain uniform sized seeds. The seeds were surface sterilized with 10% ethanol and soaked in double the volume of priming agents’ solution for 12 and 18h durations. The unprimed seeds formed the control. After soaking, the seeds were removed from respective priming solutions and dried under shade at room temperature to bring back to original moisture content. The primed seeds were evaluated for the following seed and seedling characters along with unprimed seeds. The experiment was carried out with four replications in Factorial Completely Randomised Design (FCRD).