Controlled hydration treatment of tobacco seeds enhanced seed performance greatly without additional materials associated with conventional osmotic or solid matrix priming technique. The seeds were hydrated by adding water to a level from 10 to 60% by 5% increments and incubated for 8 days at 25~circC . After the treatment, the seeds were dried to the original seed moisture content under 20~circC for 72 hours. The moisture content of tobacco seeds equivalent to 35% by the hydration treatment gave the greatest improvement in germination rate and speed compared to untreated or polyethylene glycol (PEG) primed seeds, especially at low temperature of 15~circC .

• Tai-Gi Min
• Hyo-Jung Yoon