Seed Invigoration Approaches for Improving Germinability and Productivity in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

The study was conducted during kharif for laboratory experiment from the month of May, 2022 to September, 2022 followed by rabi for field experiment from the month of October, 2022 to April, 2023 and repeated for second year 2023–24 at the District Seed Farm of BCKV, Kalyani, using completely randomized block design with three replications for each treatment, to create a straight forward and affordable seed invigoration treatment approach that would allow our farmers to enhance the vigor, viability, and field performance of pre-storage wheat seeds. The germinability, field performance, and productivity of high medium vigor wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. PBW 343) seeds enhanced by pre-storage dry and wet physiological seed invigoration treatments using crude plant materials, such as neem leaf powder, chemical treatment bleaching powder, red chilli powder, aspirin, and soaking-drying and moist-sand -conditioning- drying of seeds. Aspirin had the greatest vigor index (21976) and germination (67%) among all the treatments and produced less volatile aldehyde, a sign of lipid peroxidation, and less lipid peroxide. In terms of yield-attributing characters, aspirin, soaking-drying, and neem leaf powder treatments outperform over the control. Among the treatments, aspirin produced the best results in terms of wheat productivity, field performance, and storability.