Quest Journals Journal of Research in Agriculture and Animal Science Volume 8 ~ Issue 8 (2021) pp: 38-46 ISSN(Online) : 2321-9459 www.questjournals.org *Corresponding Author: Jasmal A.Syamsu 38 | Page Research Paper Influence of Synergistic Priming on Stimulating Germination and Seedling Growth of Rice VAR. FARO44 Lawan Gana Ali, 1, & Abubakar Haruna 1 1 Department of Science Lab. Tech., Mai Idris Alooma Polytechnic Geidam, Yobe State, Nigeria. Corresponding author: Lawan Gana Ali ABSTRACT Priming of seed is an approach that stimulates fast germination and seedling growth of rice under normal and stressful conditions. Poor germination and seedling establishment cause colossal crop failure in direct-seeded rice production systems. We evaluated the effects of synergistic priming with KNO 3 , SiO 2 and SA on germination and seedling growth of 3-weeks old FARO44 rice seedlings under well-watered conditions. Germination experiments were laid in a completely randomised design with each treatment replicated five times. The results indicated that 2.5% KNO 3 +3.5% SiO 2 , 5% KNO 3 +3% SiO 2 , 1mM SA+5% KNO 3 , 2.5mM SA+2.5% KNO 3 , 3% SiO 2 +2.5mM SA and 3.5% SiO 2 +1mM SA synergistic priming significantly enhanced rice germination, seedling growth, seedling fresh and dry weights and seedling vigour differently. However, 2.5% KNO 3 +3.5% SiO 2 and 5% KNO 3 +3% SiO 2 synergistic priming showed more effects on rice germination and seedling growth improvement. Improved germination and seedling growth of synergistic primed rice are correlated to activated and increased pre-germination metabolic processes, cell division and elongation. Therefore, synergistic pre-soaking with KNO 3 , SiO 2 and SA are recommended for stimulating faster germination and seedling growth of direct-seeded rice production systems in arid ecosystems. KEYWORDS: Germination percentage, seedling vigour, KNO 3 , SiO 2 , SA Received 02 August, 2021; Revised: 14 August, 2021; Accepted 16 August, 2021 © The author(s) 2021. Published with open access at www.questjournals.org I. INTRODUCTION Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an essential cereal crop cultivated on the earth surface. It is a major staple being consumed by more than 50% of the world’s population, it is produced on both irrigation fields and rain - fed agriculture (Dien et al., 2019; Esmaeili & Heidarzade, 2012). The world’s production of rice has been estimated at around 650 million tonnes while the land under cultivation of rice has been estimated at around 156 million hectares (FAO, 2016). Nutrient constituents of rice differ from one species to another and these are related to soil types and conditions where the cultivation has taken place; however rice contributes to the essential dietary energy requirement of the body (Rohman et al., 2014). Rice consists of about 80% carbohydrates, 7% protein, 2% water and 3.5% fat (Oko et al., 2012). Rice also consists of essential vitamins such as vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), tocopherol, B3 (niacin) some appreciable quantities of iron, phosphorus and calcium (Deepak & Shukla, 2011; Rohman et al., 2014) The burgeoning world population necessitated the increased production of rice in Asian and African countries to meet the increasing demand of food and ensure its security. However, drought, declines of precipitation, salinization of water resources, frequent storms and extreme temperatures driven by a changing climate threatened rice production (Dien et al., 2019; Zheng et al., 2016). Erratic downfall patterns associated with the changing world’s climate is the key factor responsible for the numerous drought episodes ravaging the agricultural crops around the globe. Drought severely impacts agricultural production, worldwide, it accounts for around 70% of crop yield declines (Huang et al., 2013). Sufficient production of food is one of the main challenges confronting many developing nations. These challenges are due to climate change, population growth and many other ecological pressures. Larger quantity of rice is being produced in Nigeria because the country has an estimated 4.6-4.9 million hectares of fertile land for rice production. However, insufficient precipitation and extreme temperature under a changing climate are putting more pressure on rice production. Ensuring food production and security in many countries that are extremely susceptible to climate variability have been ever more complex (Kim et al., 2017).