Effect of Seed Priming on Seed Germinability and Seedling Performance of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)

The experiment was conducted at the horticultural unit of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of priming on the agronomic performance of tomato. The study consisted of 4 treatments: 40g of NaCl per 1litre of water, 20g of NaCl per 1litre of water, 10g of NaCl per 1litre of water and 0g per 1litre of water (control). The tomato variety used was a local variety (NGB OO713). Each treatment was replicated four times. 100 grammes of tomato seeds was soaked in 1 litre of water diluted with the specified concentrations of NaCl according to treatments. The primed seeds were thereafter sowed in plastic containers filled with top soil, and the following agronomic data were taken at respective interval: Germination %, Seedling length (cm), Number of leaves per plant, Stem girth (cm), Root length, Seedling vigour index, Speed of germination. Analysis of Variance, Means separation and correlation analyses were carried out on the data obtained. Results showed that the treatment was not significant for all the seed viability and seedling vigour parameters evaluated. Some of the treatments however showed statistical differences. Positively significant correlations were recorded for most of the parameters, indicating a strong relationship. This study posited that all the NaCl concentrations used were not effective on the primed tomato seeds; which could indicate use of less than required concentration needed to properly condition the seeds. It is therefore recommended that further studies could consider increasing the salt concentration beyond 40 grammes for tomato seed priming