On-farm seed priming for barley on normal, saline and saline–sodic soils in North West Frontier Province, Pakistan

“On-farm” seed priming (soaking seeds in water prior to sowing) has been shown effective in producing earlier germination, better establishment and increased yields in a range of crops in many diverse environments. We carried out microplot, on-station and on-farm field experiments and participatory trials in several environments, including saline, saline–sodic and normal (non-saline, non-sodic) soils, in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan over a number of years to assess the effect of priming on barley yields. In general, priming was found to increase yields of both grain and straw (an important product in NWFP agriculture). Grain yield increases due to priming were up to 53% in the participatory trials. Optimum duration of priming was between 12 and 16 h, and the response to priming was better in low potential environments than under better conditions. Priming was also more advantageous on saline–sodic than on saline soils, possibly as a result of the water content of the soil. It was concluded that “on-farm” priming of barley could be recommended to farmers in NWFP and in similar environments in other parts of the world who produce barley both for grain and for fodder.