Influence of Micronutrient Mixture Seed Priming on Germination, Growth and Yield of Ragi (Eleusine coracana L.)

Abstract

Seed priming has emerged as an effective and practical approach to enhance seed performance and impart tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. A laboratory and field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of micronutrient mixture seed priming on seedling vigour and yield attributes of ragi (Eleusine coracana L.) cv. ATL 1. The experiment was conducted using a Randomised Block Design (RBD) with six seed priming treatments, comprising an unprimed control (T1), hydropriming (T2), and micronutrient mixture priming at four concentrations (T3: 0.1%, T4: 0.2%, T5: 0.3%, and T6: 0.4%). Each treatment was replicated four times, with 100 seeds per replication, resulting in a total of 400 seeds per treatment. The experimental data were subjected to statistical analysis using analysis of variance (ANOVA) appropriate for the experimental design. Hydropriming (water soaking) and an unprimed control were included for comparison. After priming, seeds were dried back to their original moisture content. Micronutrient mixture priming significantly enhanced germination and seedling vigour compared to the control. Seeds primed with 0.2% micronutrient mixture recorded the highest germination (92%), followed by 0.3% (90%), whereas control seeds exhibited 77% germination. The maximum root length (13.15 cm), shoot length (12.15 cm), dry matter production (43.70 mg 10 seedlings⁻¹) and vigour index (2328) were observed in the 0.3% micronutrient priming treatment compared to control (10.62 cm, 9.14 cm, 30.22 mg 10 seedlings⁻¹ and 1522, respectively). Under field conditions, seeds primed with 0.2% micronutrient mixture recorded the highest plant survival (88%), plant height (78.6 cm) and number of productive tillers (9.3), compared to control (76%, 73.4 cm and 7.1, respectively). This treatment also induced earlier flowering (72.6 days to 50% flowering) than the control (76.4 days). Consequently, the highest grain yield (3117 kg ha⁻¹) was achieved with 0.2% micronutrient priming, representing a 17.2% increase over the control (2658 kg ha⁻¹). In conclusion, seed priming with a 0.2% micronutrient mixture is an effective and practical pre-sowing strategy to improve germination, field establishment, growth and yield in ragi.