Abstract
A series of on-station trials was implemented between 2002 and 2006 to assess the response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) to zinc (Zn) added by soaking seeds (priming) in solutions of ZnSO4 before sowing. Wheat seed was primed for 10 h in 0.3% Zn and chickpea for 6 h in 0.05% Zn. Seed treatments increased the seed concentration in wheat from 27 to 470 mg/kg and in chickpea from 49 to 780 mg/kg. Priming wheat seeds with 0.3% Zn significantly increased the mean shoot dry mass, Zn concentration and Zn uptake of 15-day-old seedlings relative to non-primed controls and seeds primed with water alone. Using 0.4% Zn further increased shoot Zn concentration but depressed shoot dry mass to the level of the non-primed control. In seven trials, mean grain yield of wheat was significantly increased from 2.28 to 2.42 t/ha (6%) by priming with water alone and to 2.61 t/ha (14%) by priming with 0.3% Zn. Mean grain yield of chickpea in seven trials was increased significantly from 1.39 to 1.65 t/ha (19%) by priming seeds with 0.05% Zn. The effect of priming chickpea seeds with water was intermediate (1.49 t/ha) and not statistically separable from the non-primed and zinc-primed treatments. Increased grain yield due to priming in both crops was associated with increases in total biomass but there was no significant effect of priming on harvest index. In addition to increasing yield, priming seeds with Zn also significantly increased grain zinc concentration, by 12% in wheat (mean of three trials) and by 29% in chickpea (one trial) and the total amount of Zn taken up by the grain (by 27% in wheat and by 130% in chickpea). Using ZnSO4 to prime seeds was very cost-effective, with net benefit-to-cost ratios of 75 for wheat and 780 for chickpea.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ajouri A, Asgedom H, Becker M (2004) Seed priming enhances germination and seedling growth of barley under conditions of P and Zn deficiency. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 167:630–636
Anonymous (2004) National Nutrition Survey, 2001–2002. Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad
FAO (2004) Fertilizer use by crop in Pakistan. Land and Plant Nutrition Management Service, Land and Water Development Division, FAO, Rome
Government of Pakistan (2005) Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan 2004–2005. Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Islamabad, Pakistan
Harris D (2006) Development and testing of ‘on-farm’ seed priming. Adv Agron 90:129–178
Harris D, Joshi A, Khan PA, Gothkar P, Sodhi PS (1999) On-farm seed priming in semi-arid agriculture: development and evaluation in maize, rice and chickpea in India using participatory methods. Exp Agric 35:15–29
Harris D, Raghuwanshi BS, Gangwar JS, Singh SC, Joshi KD, Rashid A, Hollington PA (2001) Participatory evaluation by farmers of ‘on-farm’ seed priming in wheat in India, Nepal and Pakistan. Exp Agric 37(3):403–415
Harris D, Rashid A, Arif M, Yunas M (2005) Alleviating micronutrient deficiencies in alkaline soils of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan: on-farm seed priming with zinc in wheat and chickpea. In: Andersen P, Tuladhar JK, Karki KB, Maskey SL (eds) Micronutrients in South and South East Asia. ICIMOD, Kathmandu, pp 143–151
Harris D, Rashid A, Miraj G, Arif M, Shah H (2007) Priming seeds with zinc sulphate solution increases yields of maize (Zea mais L.) on zinc-deficient soils. Field Crops Res 102:119–127
HarvestPlus (2007) www.harvestplus.org
Johnson SE, Lauren JG, Welch RM, Duxbury JM (2005) A comparison of the effects of micronutrient seed priming and soil fertilization on the mineral nutrition of chickpea (Cicer arietinum), lentil (Lens culinaris), rice (Oryza sativa) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) in Nepal. Exp Agric 41:427–448
Khattak JK, Parveen S (1986a) Micronutrient status of Pakistan soils and their role in crop production. Bull. Soil Sci. No. 3. NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar
Khattak JK, Parveen S (1986b) Trace element status of Pakistan soils. In: Proceedings of XII. International Forum on Soil Taxonomy and Agrotechnology Transfer. First Volume: Technological Sessions. Pakistan, Oct. 9–23, 1985. Soil Survey of Pakistan and Soil Management Support Services, USA, pp 119–124
Musa AM, Harris D, Johansen C, Kumar J (2001) Short duration chickpea to replace fallow after Aman rice: the role of on-farm seed priming in the High Barind Tract of Bangladesh. Exp Agric 37(4):509–521
NDFC (1998) Micronutrients in agriculture. Pakistan’s perspective. Status report no.4/98. pp 57. Planning and Development Division, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad
Padole VR (1979) Effect of presoaking seed treatment of wheat seed with chemicals and hormones on yield and uptake of NPK. J Maharashtra Agric Univ 4(1):85–88
Rashid A (1996) Secondary and micronutrients. In: Bashir E, Bantel R (eds) Soil science. National Book Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan, p 374
Rashid A, Qayyum F (1991) Cooperative research program on micronutrient status of Pakistan soils and its role in crop production. Final Report 1983–90. NARC, Islamabad
Rashid A, Rahmatullah A, Hussain F, Latif A, Sharif M (1979) The extent and severity of Zn and Cu deficiency and their mutual interaction in maize on soils of the Punjab. Pakistan J Sci Ind Res 23:57–63
Rengel Z, Graham RD (1995a) Importance of seed Zn content for wheat grown on Zn-deficient soil I. Vegetative growth. Plant Soil 173:259–266
Rengel Z, Graham RD (1995b) Importance of seed Zn content for wheat grown on Zn-deficient soil II. Grain yield. Plant Soil 173:267–274
Saraswat VK, Bansal KN (1991) Methods of zinc application and its effect on yield and zinc content of rice (Oryza sativa) and wheat (Triticum vulgare). Madras Agric J 78(5–8):174–177
Sillanpa AM (1982) Micronutrients and nutrient status of soils. A global study. FAO Soil Bull 48, Rome
Tahir M (1981) Availability status of micronutrients in soils of West Pakistan and the role and behaviour of selected micronutrients in the nutrition of crops. Final Tech Rept PL-480 project; NIAB, Faisalabad, p 124
Takkar PN, Walker CD (1993) The distribution and correction of zinc deficiency. In: Robson AD (ed) Zinc in soils and plants. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 151–165
Welch R (1986) Effects of nutrient deficiencies on seed production and quality. Adv Plant Nutr 2:205–247
Welch RM (2002) The impact of mineral nutrients in food crops on global human health. Plant Soil 247:83–90
Welch RM (2005) Biotechnology, biofortification and global health. Food Nutr Bull 26(4):419–421
White JG, Zasoski RJ (1999) Mapping soil micronutrients. Field Crops Res 60:11–26
Yilmaz A, Ekiz H, Torun B, Gultekin I, Karanlik S, Bagci SA, Cakmak I (1997) Effect of different zinc application methods on grain yield and zinc concentration in wheat cultivars grown in zinc-deficient calcareous soils. J Plant Nutr 20:461–471
Yilmaz A, Ekiz H, Gultekin I, Torun B, Barut H, Karanlik S, Cakmak I (1998) Effect of seed zinc content on grain yield and zinc concentration of wheat grown in zinc-deficient calcareous soils. J Plant Nutr 21:2257–2264
Acknowledgements
We thank M. Naveed and H. Shah for their technical assistance. This paper is an output from a project (Plant Sciences Research Programme R7438) funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and administered by CAZS Natural Resources, Bangor University, UK for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Ismail Cakmak.
An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9506-z
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Harris, D., Rashid, A., Miraj, G. et al. ‘On-farm’ seed priming with zinc in chickpea and wheat in Pakistan. Plant Soil 306, 3–10 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9465-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9465-4