Vol. 10, Issue 10 (2021)

Author(s):
S Sindhu, R Geetha, K Sujatha, K Kumutha and T Sivakumar

Abstract:
Green gram (Vigna radiata L.) grows mainly in rain-fed conditions with moderate rainfall. Drought during different growth stages results in lower productivity of the crop. In the present study seed priming of green gram with osmoprotectants was carried out to perceive the drought tolerance capacity of osmoprotectants on the growth of the crop. The seeds were primed with water and priming agents viz., glycine betaine and proline at concentrations of 100, 200 and 300 ppm with unprimed seeds served as control. Drought stress was imposed using polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 at -0.5 bar. The results revealed that glycine betaine @ 200 ppm recorded the highest speed of germination (25.00) with 94% germination and higher vigour index value (18.61) with the stress tolerance index of 94.28%. The performance of proline was also better at 300ppm concentration which was the next best treatment. Primed seeds performed better than unprimed seeds with enhanced germination and vigour of the seedlings under water stress condition.