ABSTRACT
Rice nursery bed preparation was heavily affected by the arsenic (As) present in the soil and water in West Bengal as majority of the rice field is arsenic affected in exposed areas. Arsenic toxicity reduced the germination percentage and reduced plant vigour, beneficial and nutritional constituents. Humic acid (HA) is already rendered the quality of soil condition and plant growth modulator, which encourage to choose HA as material for priming agent. The priming experiment with HA showed 15% higher germination percentage and reduced As concentration in root (25.36–27.97%) and shoot (79.62–84.81%) compare to unprimed seeds under As stress condition. Arsenic toxicity reduced the overall seedling vigour compare to control and As also greatly affects the root development due to its primarily accumulation largely in root. HA priming also showed good result in root development under different As stress.
