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Farmers typically practice ’on-farm’ priming to overcome the ’spring drought’ in semi-arid regions. The reason invoked for the priming effect in the literature is often the thermal time model whereas investigators rarely focus on the root system of the seedling. The aims of this study were to quantify the priming effect and simulate the emergence pattern under field-variable temperatures. Furthermore, we describe the priming effect on the character of the seedling root system. Seed priming enhanced the germination percentage and accelerated the germination rate in all species, especially at lower temperatures. Priming decreased the thermal requirement of all tested crops; the simulated priming effect was maximized during cooler conditions in early spring; the root system of primed plants developed in advance, indicating that the seedlings possessed more drought tolerance.