Osmotically Primed Seed and Seedling Reactions to Variations in Day/Night Temperature

The effects of alternating day/night temperatures, varying in maxima and minima but all averaging 30 °C, on germination and seedling characteristics of Sorghum bicolor L. (Moench) were investigated. Seeds of sorghum CSV 15 were soaked in 2, 4 or 6 g NaCl l⁻¹ solutions for 2 days at 25 °C, soaked in water for 1 day at 25 °C, or untreated. After treatment, drying and storage, seeds were germinated at 30/30 (day/night), 35/25, 40/20 or 41/19 °C temperature regimes under a polyethylene glycol-induced drought level of −3 bar. Results revealed no advancement of germination percentage but a partial increase in germination speed by osmotic seed treatments. All three osmotic treatments also reduced the plumule/radicle ratio owing to a speculated increase in root over shoot growth. Temperature regimes significantly influenced both germination and seedling characteristics with the optimum temperature appearing to be 35/25 °C. Increasing the temperature amplitude from 30/30 to 35/25 °C increased germination speed, which was reduced by incremental increases in temperature amplitude to 40/20 or 41/19 °C.