On-farm seed priming reduces yield losses of mungbean (Vigna radiata) associated with mungbean yellow mosaic virus in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan
2004
Rashid, A. | Harris, D. | Hollington, P. | Ali, S.
The effect of priming seed for 8 h with water before sowing on the incidence and severity of infection of mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) with mungbean yellow mosaic virus (MYMV) was investigated in a replicated, large-plot trial in 2002. Primed seeds germinated and emerged faster and more completely, resulting in the establishment of 45% more plants per unit area than non-primed seeds. However, subsequent mortality during the growth cycle in both treatments reduced this to a small, non-significant difference between treatments at final harvest. Symptoms of MYMV infection were assessed using a visual scoring index (VSI). More than 70% of the non-primed plants were judged to have severe or lethal symptoms whereas only 14% of the primed plants were similarly affected. Only 9% of non-primed plants showed no disease symptoms in contrast to 32% of primed plants. These marked differences between priming treatments in the incidence and severity of disease were reflected in the components of yield. Primed crops produced 80% more above-ground biomass (3.3 versus 1.9 t ha-1), 264% more pod yield (1.0 versus 0.28 t ha-1) and 415% more grain (0.36 versus 0.07 t ha-1) than did non-primed crops. Several possible hypotheses to explain these differences in response to MYMV are discussed.
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