Effect of hydro and osmopriming on germination improvement of native turf grass of Lolium rigidum

With attention to the native landscape design value and the using of grasses which play a crucial role in the urban landscape, we carried out two experiments in germinator condition. This investigation was conducted to explore effects of hydro and osmopriming on germination and seedling growth of Lolium rigidum. The first experiment was carried out as completely randomized design with 4 treatments and replications. The treatments include: dry seed (control) and seed soaking in distilled water in three times 12, 24 and 48 hours, respectively. The second factorial experiment was carried out as completely randomized design with four replications.  First factors included three levels of priming (seeds treated with distilled water, seeds treated with KNo3 0.2% and NaCl 45 dS/m), the second factor included three levels of time (12, 24 and 48 hours). In this research some seed germination indices such as germination percentage, germination speed, length of root and shoot, fresh and dry weight of root and shoot, mean germination time and vigor index were measured. The results of the first experiment showed that the effect of seed priming with distilled water was significant (P<0.01) than control at all times on most traits. The results of the second experiment showed that osmopriming especially KNo3 for 12 hours improved the rate and percentage of germination and growth of the seedling. Totally, osmopriming had more significant effect than control and hydropriming.