Quality of garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) primed seed

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of different priming treatments on seed quality and initial growth and development of garden pea. For this purpose, three garden pea cultivars, developed at the Institute of Field and Vegetable crops, Novi Sad were examined. The laboratory experiment was conducted under optimal conditions. Seeds were primed in water (hydropriming), 0.5% KNO3 solution, and -0.49 MPa PEG solution for 24 hours; non-primed seeds were controls. The results showed that the percentage of germination, shoot and root length, and mean germination rate significantly increased after the tested priming treatments, while the percentage of abnormal seedlings and mean germi­nation time were significantly decreased after the priming treatments compared to the control. The increase of fresh and dry seedling biomass was significant only in cv.1 and cv.2. Despite the genetic diversity of pea cultivars, the results indicated that the examined seed priming treatments enhanced seed quality and vigour of garden pea cultivars.