Osmotic stress is the most important of the abiotic stresses that lead to limitation of growth and yield in rapeseed. This study was conducted to examine the effect of cycocel seed priming on osmotic stress tolerance in germination and early growth stages of rapeseed, as a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design at Agriculture College of Shiraz University in 2012. The treatments included seed priming in three cycocel concentrations: 0 (without priming as control), 2.5 and 3.5 g L-1 and osmotic stress in five levels: 0 (as control), -0.3, -0.6, -0.9 and -1.2 MPa using polyethylene glycol. The results showed that osmotic stress was significantly reduced germination percentage (15.1%), germination rate (15.3%), radicle length (29.5%), plumule length (31.6%), radicle fresh weight (22.4%), plumule fresh weight (37.6%) and vigor index (39.9%). Furthermore, osmotic stress leads to increase radicle to plumule fresh weight and radicle to plumule length ratio as 6.8 and 24.3 percent, respectively. Seed priming with cycocel reduced the adverse effects of osmotic stress on measured parameters. Although, there was no positive effect on germination percentage and rate under osmotic and nonosmotic conditions for cycocel in both concentrations, but cycocel at 3.5 g L-1 appeared to have a greater positive effect than 2.5 g L-1. Considering positive impact of cycocel seed priming on the reduction adverse effects of osmotic stress further research on cycocel seed priming and osmotic stress tolerance is recommended under field conditions.
