Effect of nutripriming treatments on growth parameters of riceseedlings in nursery tray

An experiment was carried out at Agricultural Research Station, Mannuthy, Kerala to evaluate the effect of nutripriming on tray nursery technique in rice. Nutripriming treatments viz. priming with 0.1% urea, 0.01% borax, 0.05% ZnSO4, combinations of urea with borax and ZnSO4, combination of urea, borax and ZnSO4, 1% Pseudomonas fluorescens and 1% PGPR mix I were applied to seeds grown in seedling trays filled with growing media containing 60% rice husk 154 charcoal + 20% soil + 20% coir pith compost. Combined application of urea, zinc and borax was superior with respect to growth parameters of seedling and mat characteristics. Higher Ca, Mg, S and B uptake was also observed in this treatment. Hence, nutripriming with 0.1% Urea + 0.05% ZnSO4 + 0.01% Borax was found to be a better practice for quality tray nursery production in rice.