Effect of Seed Biopriming on Germination and Growth of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Under Water Stress

Chickpea is a source of energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber and without cholesterol. Chickpea makes it possible to cover the protein deficit of the Indian and Mediterranean populations. The aim of our work is to study the effects of biopriming, which is a technique of priming seeds with living microbial cells (in our case we used rhizobium isolates) on germination and growth under water stress. The chickpea varieties used in the experiment are Farihane, Zahor, Rizki, and Bouchra. After 7 days, the biopriming seedlings were separated into two lots in a growth chamber with irrigation at 40% and 80% of field capacity. The results showed an increase in germination parameters such as the germination percentage, mean germination time and T50. Treatment of Zahor seeds with rhizobia improved germination percentage by 15% compared to unprimed seeds. For the varieties Farihane and Zahor, biopriming improved the MGT by 37 and 42% respectively compared to the unprimed seeds. For the variety Zahor, plant growth resulting from biopriming decreased by only 9% under severe water deficit. In conclusion, biopriming with Rhizobium isolates improved all studied germination and growth parameters.