Poor germination obstructs early and uniform seedling stand in cucumber. Pre-sowing salicylic acid treatments have been
reported to improve the emergence in many crops under wide range of conditions. This study was conducted to evaluate the
possibility of improvement in emergence and early seedling growth in cucumber by pre-sowing salicylic acid (SA) treatments.
Seeds of cucumber cv. Nabil were soaked in aerated 50 and 100 mg L-1 solution of SA for 24 h. Pre-sowing SA treatments
improved the emergence rate and uniformity and early seedling growth. However, seed treatment with 50 mg L-1 was more
effective in reducing the time to start emergence, time to 50% emergence and mean emergence percentage, and improving the
final emergence, emergence energy, emergence index, root and shoot length and number of roots. Nonetheless, maximum
seedling fresh and dry weights were recorded from seed treatment with 100 mg L-1 SA. But none of the priming treatments
improved the number of leaves. Seed treatment with 50 mg L-1 SA can be successfully employed to improve the germination
and seedling growth in cucumbers. © 2011 Friends Science Publishers