Seed priming confers rice cold tolerance during seed germination

Mechanization and simplification are inevitable trends in agriculture to decrease input demands and simultaneously improve resource use efficiency. Dry direct-seeded rice is a resource-saving cropping system and has been considered as a replacement for traditional transplanted rice. However, the poor establishment of dry direct-seeded early rice, primarily induced by chilling stress, has limited the wide adoption of this system. In a recent study published in AoB PLANTS, Wang et al. revealed that priming treatments significantly enhanced the seed germination and seedling growth of dry direct-seeded early rice under chilling stress. The improved emergence and vigorous seedling growth induced by the seed priming treatments were associated with increased α-amylase activity and total soluble sugar contents in the primed seedlings. These findings will have practical implications for the sustainability and productivity of dry direct-seeded early rice.