Rapid and uniform stand establishment is a prerequisite for good crop production, especially in high value vegetable crops. Seed enhancement treatments improve crop performance, the rate and uniformity of germination and provide early-stage protection for better crop establishment. An experiment was conducted on two chilli varieties; Kashi Anmol and Arka Lohit using various seed enhancement treatments; hydro (24 hr), halo (2% NaCl2 for 24 hr), osmo (1.5 MPa PEG 6000 for 36 hr), solid matrix (Vermiculite for 24 hr) and magneto (50mT for 30 min) priming and then assessed for physiological, biochemical changes and their effect on field emergence characteristics. The results indicated that solid matrix priming followed by magnetopriming resulted in higher germination and vigour indices compared to the untreated control. Enhanced seeds exhibited lower electrical conductance and leachate sugars, and higher levels of respiratory enzymes regardless of vigour level. Subsequently, magnetopriming (67%) exhibited comparable efficacy in promoting field emergence with osmopriming (66%) and halopriming (66%) in Kashi Anmol. Emergence was slightly delayed in Arka Lohit compared to Kashi Anmol, but there was a significant improvement in emergence percentage with solid matrix priming (56%), followed by osmopriming (51%) and magnetopriming (50%) treatments. Overall, seed enhancement treatments improved germination, seedling vigour and improving field emergence under normal and adverse conditions in chilli seeds

Seed invigouration, magnetopriming, vigour index, dehydrogenase, electrical conductivity

Seed enhancement treatments can positively impact the emergence performance of chilli seeds, especially for both high vigour (Kashi Anmol) and low vigour (Arka Lohit). Various seed enhancement treatments provide an opportunity to maximize the potential of seeds, leading to more uniform, vigorous stands, and ultimately, better crop establishment and productivity. Specifically, solid matrix priming and magneto priming had significant effect on field emergence both under suboptimum and optimum conditions. Changes in physiological (germination percentage, vigour index I, vigour index II, Electric conductivity and total soluble sugars) and biochemical parameters (dehydrogenase activity) in relation to enhancement in viability and vigour upon solid matrix priming were observed

Jayasri Sundarraj, Sudipta Basu and Mohammed Athar (2024). Physiological and Biochemical Changes in Enhanced Seed and their Effects on the Field Emergence Characteristics of Chilli Seeds. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 16(6): 79-84.