Effect of Pre-sowing Seed Treatments on Seedling of Parsley (Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Nym)

Abstract

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum (mill.) Nym) is an important culinary and aromatic herb; however, its cultivation is constrained by slow, erratic seed germination and poor seedling establishment. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of ten seed priming treatments for enhancing germination and early seedling growth of parsley. The experiment was conducted during the rabi season of 2025–2026 using the parsley variety ‘Moss Curled’ under rain-shelter conditions at Thrissur, Kerala. Seed priming treatments significantly influenced germination and several early seedling growth parameters. Hydropriming by soaking in water for 24 hours recorded the highest germination percentage (81.80%) and vigour indices I (1223.70) and II (4.51), followed by hot-water treatment at 60 °C for 30 minutes (79.10%) and GA₃ at 2.0 g L⁻¹ (76.50%). The shortest mean germination time (5.71 days) was recorded with Piriformospora indica, compared with 9.56 days in the untreated control. Pseudomonas fluorescens recorded the maximum shoot length (8.90 cm), whereas Azospirillum zeae produced the longest roots (9.10 cm). Seedling weight was not significantly influenced by the priming treatments. Overall, 24-hour hydropriming was the most effective treatment for improving germination and seedling vigour, whereas microbial biopriming enhanced specific seedling growth attributes. The findings indicate that appropriate seed priming techniques can improve germination performance and early seedling establishment in parsley.