Initial development of maize in response to different periods of seed immersion in humic acid (HA)

Currently, there is a higher demand for improved seeds, associated with the treatment with fungicides, insecticides, and recently inoculants and biostimulants. Treating corn seeds with humic acid (HA) triggers physiological and metabolic processes that can increase productivity. However, the effects of seed immersion time on plant performance are unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to test different periods of corn seed immersion in HA (10 mmol L-1 of C) and the effects on seedling development characteristics. The treatments consisted of soaking seeds for 00:00; 00:17; 01:00; 02:00; 04:00; 08:00; 16:00 and 24:00 hours. The experimental design was completely randomized, with four replicates. At 30 days after sowing, two plants per replicate were collected to determine the shoot, root, and total fresh and dry masses of the plants. The plants grown from seeds soaked for 8 hours had the strongest response among the plants analyzed in this study