Influence of Seed Priming On Agronomic Performance In Soybeans.

Seeds from two soybean, [Glycine max (L.) (Merr.)], cultivars, Jack and BSR101, were primed by using a modified accelerated aging protocol of 41°C for 48 hours. Seed priming is carefully controlling the amount of water imbibed by a seed to improve seed quality by repairing previously sustained deterioration. The objective was to evaluate the agronomic performance traits of primed and unprimed seeds. In the 2010 growing season, 20 entries of each cultivar were analyzed. The primed seeds of both cultivars matured later, were shorter, and had lower percent seed oil values. In both cultivars, the primed seeds showed significantly higher standard germination test and accelerated aging test values. In BSR101, the primed seeds showed a 16 percent higher standard germination, and a 46 percent higher accelerated aging test value than the non-primed seeds. In Jack, the primed seeds had a 14 percent higher standard germination and a 26 percent higher accelerated aging test value. Continued analyses will look at the second generation to see if the benefits from priming are heritable over multiple years and locations.