Effects of Water Stress and hydro-priming duration on field performance of lentil

A field experiment was conducted in 2012, to evaluate the effects of hydro-priming duration (P1, P2 and P3: 0, 8 and 16 h, respectively) on field performance of lentil under different irrigation treatments (I1, I2, I3 and I4: Irrigation after 70, 100, 130 and 160 mm evaporation from class A pan, respectively). Plant height, number of pods and grains per plant, 100 grain weight, plant biomass, grain yield and harvest index decreased with decreasing water availability. Means of all these traits for plants from primed seeds were higher than those for plants from unprimed seeds. However, differences in pods per plant, grains per plant, 100 grains weight and harvest index were not statistically significant. Plant height, biological and grain yields for P2 plants were significantly higher than those for P3 and P1 plants. Thus, hydro-priming of lentil seeds for 8 hours is the best treatment to enhance grain yield of lentil under well and limited irrigation conditions.