Terminal moisture stress is one of the major problems constraining rain-fed lowland rice production in northwestern
Ethiopia. A field experiment was conducted in 2010 and 2011 at Fogera plains to study the effect of hydro-priming
and pre-germinating rice seed on the yield and response of the crop to terminal moisture stress. A factorial combination of
eight seed treatments and three sowing times were studied in RCB design with three replications. Data on crop phenology,
shoot biomass, leaf area, number of productive and unproductive tillers, filled and unfilled spikeletes, plant height, biomass
yield, thousand seed weight, and grain yield were collected and analyzed. The results revealed that planting pre-germinated
seeds as well as seeds soaked and dried for 24 hrs at the local (farmers’) sowing time resulted in significantly earlier seedling
emergence, heading, and maturity. Higher numbers of productive tillers, filled spikeletes, leaf area index, crop growth
rate, net assimilation rate, grain yield, biomass yield, and harvest index were recorded in response to planting pregerminated
seeds followed by seeds soaked and dried for 24 hrs at farmers’ sowing time. The present study concluded that
planting pre-germinated seeds or hydro-primed seeds soaked and dried for 24 hrs could be practiced as the first and second
best alternatives for rice production on Fogera plains in northwestern Ethiopia.