Summary
The effects on germination and early seedling growth of presowing true potato seed in water or gibberellic acid (GA) at 1500 ppm and of priming in −1.0, −1.25 and −1.5 MPa solutions of KNO3+K3PO4 were studied using 30, 18, 6 and 3/4 month-old seed. The influence of light during presowing on the effectiveness of treatments was also investigated.
Overall, priming in the light at −1.0 MPa was the most, and GA the least successful treatment for enhancing emergence and subsequent seedling growth. Though GA increased final emergence from about 20 to 70% in the most recently harvested lot (3/4 mo), the rate and extent of final germination or emergence in this dormant seed was still much lower than that of the nondormant lots (6–30 mo), especially when the latter were primed. For all lots, dry weight per seedling was 40% lower in dormant than in nondormant seed, and 20% higher when seeds were primed at −1.0 MPa than when GA treated. In conclusion, the use of nondormant seed may be a requirement for both effective priming and sowing of potato crops via true seed.
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Pallais, N. Osmotic priming of true potato seed: Effects of seed age. Potato Res 32, 235–244 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02358239
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02358239