Seed priming with CaCl ₂ improves the stand establishment, yield and quality attributes in direct seeded rice (Oryza sativa)

Poor and erratic crop stand is one of the major constraints to the wider adoption of direct seeded rice at farmer's field. Seed priming is a doable technology to improve the performance of direct seeded rice. This study involved on-farm testing of seed priming techniques in direct seeded rice and priming tools used include on-farm priming, hydropriming, hardening and osmopriming with CaCl ₂ followed by re-drying or surface drying. Non-primed seeds were taken as control. Osmopriming with re-drying effectively improved the crop stand, yield and quality attributes in direct seeded rice as compared to control and was followed by seed hardening and hydropriming for most of the traits. Improved crop stand was due to reduced emergence time and high seedling vigor and yield by osmopriming with CaCl ₂ followed by re-drying was attributed to improved total and higher panicle bearing tillers, number of kernels per panicle, 1000-kernel weight, straw and kernel yield with high harvest index (HI). Reduced sterile spikelets and opaque kernels from CaCl ₂ osmoprimed seeds with re-drying also resulted in increased kernel quality of the direct seeded rice. The results suggest successful employing of seed priming particularly osmopriming with CaCl ₂ with re-drying for improved crop performance in direct seeded rice at farmer's field.