A comparison of two large-scale seed priming techniques

Leek seed lots of high (91%) and low (82%) viability were primed in aerated polyethylene glycol (PEG) solutions in Bubble-columns and by a non-osmotic priming technique in both 1987 and 1988 and the seeds were then sown in the field. Both methods of priming established a similar seed moisture content during treatment and, in the laboratory, produced seeds with more rapid and uniform germination than untreated seeds, with a greater advantage for Drum compared with Bubble-column priming in PEG. In the field, both priming techniques gave seedling emergence responses similar to those from priming in PEG by the laboratory-scale technique on filter paper. Both large-scale priming methods gave earlier and more uniform emergence than untreated seeds and gave similar or slightly higher levels of seedling emergence, except on one sowing occasion when seeds were stored before sowing followed by sowing into a drying seedbed.