Abstract
Carrot is a cool season vegetable and belongs to family Apiaceae. It is very popular because of its high nutritional value along
with many health benefits. Usual time to grow carrots in Punjab-Pakistan is October; however, due to profitable outcomes,
carrot production is preferred in August-September in some areas. The high temperature during these months however, reduces
seed germination and poses significant threat to early seedling growth of carrot which directly affect crop yield due to
insufficient plant population. Thus, a comprehensive study was conducted at Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of
Agriculture Faisalabad to boost carrot seed germination at higher temperature. Recent studies have suggested the significant
role of salicylic acid (SA) in seed priming to improve seed germination and subsequent growth of the plants under various
environmental conditions. That’s why, SA was employed for carrot seed priming to achieve the benefits. Initially, in a
laboratory trial, carrot seeds (cultivar T-29) were primed with various concentration of SA (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2 mM and
distilled water) for 12 h at room temperature while unprimed seeds served as control. Seeds were dried and then placed in Petri
dishes for evaluation in terms of germination assay at high temperature (35±2°C) in the incubator. Results revealed that
maximum germination (79%) was attained with 0.1 mM SA priming followed by 0.2 mM SA while, unprimed seeds showed
least germination (55%) under high temperature (35±2°C). Based on the results of laboratory trial, 0.1mM and 0.2mM SA
priming doses were tested in field trials along with distilled water priming and (unprimed) control. Seeds primed in 0.1 mM
SA solution resulted in considerably higher antioxidants and total phenolic contents in carrot seedlings and also enhanced other
enzymatic activities in terms of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase. Seed emergence and some of the physiological
responses were also improved along with carrot yield attributes during field trials. Keeping in view the results of this study, it
is concluded that lower concentration of SA (0.1mM) can be effectively used to boost carrot seed germination even under high
temperature conditions
Muhammad Mahmood-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Amjad, Khurram Ziaf, Riaz Ahmad. (2020) SEED PRIMING WITH SALICYLIC ACID IMPROVE SEED GERMINATION AND PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF CARROT SEEDS, Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Volume 57, Issue 2.
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