Response of Onion (Allium Cepa) Seeds to Different Osmopriming Agents During Germination and Plant Growth

Abstract

Osmopriming Giza 20 and Texas Grano onion (Allium cepa L.) seeds using different concentrations of polyethylene glycol 8000 (PEG), KNO3, NaCl solutions and water (hydropriming) were investigated in a laboratory experiment. The influence of osmopriming and hydropriming on germination % (GR), germination rate index (GRI), the effect of onion cultivar, seed treatment and their interaction were studied. Results showed that the germination percentages and germination rate indexes varied significantly among the two onion genotypes, the highest GR % was (91 %) for Texas Grano treated with PEG (-1Mpa) and the lowest (25 %) was for Geza 20 seeds treated with 0.6 M NaCl. The highest value for GRI was 71 for Texas Grano onion seeds treated with PEG (-1.0 Mpa) and the lowest value was 18.3 for Giza 20 onion seeds treated with 0.6 M NaCl. Results also showed that the germination percentage and the germination rate index were significantly influenced by cultivar, osmopriming treatment and their interaction.