Seed priming improves germination in saline conditions for Chenopodium quinoa and Amaranthus caudatus |
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| Authors: | C Moreno C E Seal J Papenbrock |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Botany, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universit?t Hannover, Hannover, Germany;2. Department of Comparative Plant and Fungal Biology, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, West Sussex, UK |
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| Abstract: | Seed priming has proved to be an effective method in imparting stress tolerance to plants using natural and/or synthetic compounds to treat the seeds before germination. The present work aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of priming treatments in seeds of Chenopodium quinoa and Amaranthus caudatus to improve germination under NaCl. Species‐specific protocols for seed hydropriming and osmopriming were established by germinating seeds under different water potentials and creating seed imbibition curves. Primed seeds were then germinated under different concentrations of NaCl, and the effect of priming was analysed based on the parameters, such as final germination percentage (FGP), germination index (GI) and mean germination time (MGT). Seed hydropriming and osmopriming caused significant improvements in germination velocity and uniformity, reflected in high FGP, high GI and reduced MGT under salinity. C. quinoa had a higher tolerance to salinity than A. caudatus during seed germination. Improved germination in salinity resulted from osmopriming seeds with solutions of low water potential for A. caudatus, while for C. quinoa, this effect was achieved from hydropriming and osmopriming seeds with solutions of high water potential. Primed tolerance to moderate salinity was achieved for A. caudatus, and for both species, the salinity threshold for germination to occur was slightly broadened. |
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| Keywords: | Amaranthus caudatus Chenopodium quinoa germination salinity seed priming |
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