DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sajb.2026.v14i08.005

Pages: 582-589

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the world's most important food crops and plays a key role in food security across Africa. Improving seed physiological quality is essential for enhancing crop establishment and early plant development. This study evaluated the effects of hydropriming and post-priming seed storage duration on the germination, emergence, and growth of CRAM 6 rice. The experiments were conducted from January to October 2025 at the experimental station of the University of Man, Côte d’Ivoire. Besides the control treatment (non-primed seeds), hydroprimed seeds were stored for zero (W0), one (W1), two (W2), three (W3), and four (W4) weeks before sowing. Germination tests were carried out in Petri dishes using a completely randomized design with four replications, while emergence and growth experiments were conducted under greenhouse conditions. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by Dunn–Holm’s post hoc test at the 5% significance level. Hydropriming significantly improved seed performance when seeds were sown immediately after treatment. The W0 treatment showed the shortest germination onset time (12 h), the highest germination percentage (98.61%), and the highest emergence percentage (92.67%). It also produced the most vigorous plants, with a mean height of 75.50 cm and a total dry biomass of 12.35 g. Conversely, increasing storage duration after hydropriming progressively reduced germination, emergence, and plant growth, while increasing seed infection. These findings demonstrate that hydropriming is an effective technique for improving the establishment and early growth of CRAM 6 rice, provided that seeds are sown shortly after treatment.