•Seed priming of vegetables beneficial for improving productivity under open field and greenhouse.•Reduces time for emergence, cost of reseeding and improves uniformity, effectiveness of cultural practices.•Non-invasive treatments advantageous than conventional priming.•DNA repair, epigenetic modification, aquaporins, ROS/RNS signaling have a role in priming response. Vegetable crops benefit from seed priming technology by their low volume and high value. Early sowing of vegetables under suboptimal environments is practised often to fetch better remuneration in the market, although simultaneously it compels the farmers to use high seed rates to compensate for poor seedling emergence. To tackle this problem, farmers and seed companies world over practice on-farm and wet/dry priming techniques of seeds as it facilitates synchrony in flowering and fruiting, resulting in improved yields. The various priming strategies used for seed treatment are classified into: conventional/invasive (hydro-, osmo-, hormonal, halo-, solid matrix, nutrient, bio- or nano-priming) and physical/non-invasive (magneto, UV-irradiation, γ-radiation, cold plasma, electron and laser priming). The farmers can reap the benefits of seed priming as it minimizes (i) the time for plant emergence, (ii) expense of re-seeding, (iii) additional irrigation and fertilization, (iv) weed management, (v) ineffectiveness of cultural practices used on a stand of non-uniform growth. This review discusses the recent details about various seed priming techniques used for the enhancement of germination rate as well as vigor in vegetable crops. The biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying the priming effects have also been comprehensively reviewed to explain the scientific basis of the technology.