Legume seed dormancy has been altered during the domestication process, resulting in non-dormant seeds with a testa that is readily permeable for water. Ultimately, this provides fast and uniform germination, in contrast to dormant seeds of the wild progenitor. To date, germination and seed dormancy were studied mostly in relation to two types of cultivated chickpea: kabuli and desi. We studied seed dormancy, from physiological and anatomical perspectives, in chickpea crops and compared cultivated chickpeas to the wild chickpea progenitor and set of recombinant inbred lines (RIL). There was significant difference in the macrosclereid length of parental genotypes. Cultivated chickpea (C. arietinum, ICC4958) had mean of 125 µm, while wild C. reticulatum (PI48977) had a mean of 165 µm. Histochemical staining of the seed coat also showed differences, mainly in terms of Sudan Red detection of lipidic substances. Imbibition and germination were tested and several germination coefficients were calculated. Cultivated chickpea seeds imbibed readily within 24 h, while the germination percentage of wild chickpea at various times was 36% (24 h), 46% (48 h), 60% (72 h) and reached 100% only after 20 days. RIL lines showed a broader distribution. This knowledge will ultimately lead to the identification of the underlying molecular mechanism of seed dormancy in chickpea, as well as allowing comparison to phylogenetically related legumes, such as pea, lentil and faba bean, and could be utilized in chickpea breeding programs.

In this study, we assessed the content of chlorophyllaandb, β-carotene and lutein in seeds of carrot, celery, dill, parsley and parsnip commercial varieties by spectrophotometric method. It was determined that the content of chlorophyllawas higher than chlorophyllband both differed significantly between plant species and varieties. The highest amounts of chlorophylla, chlorophyllb, β-carotene and lutein were detected in parsley “Olomoucka dlouha”. The lowest amounts of chlorophylla, chlorophyllb, β-carotene and no lutein were detected in celery “Nuget”, however, very low amount of lutein was detected in the parsley cultivars “Atika” and “Orbis”. The content of β-carotene was higher than that of lutein in most varieties. The individual pigment contents were compared to seed quality parameters such as standard laboratory germination and seedling emergence. Negative correlation between energy of germination and pigments and positive correlation between seedling emergence and pigments in the parsnip and parsley varieties was observed. Determination the content of pigments and correlations observed the possibility to use spectrophotometry to evaluate the pigments present in the seeds as an indicator of seed quality.

Background Sewage sludge (SS) has been considered a potent source of soil nutrients. However, its direct application to agricultural soils have been discouraged owing to its toxic nature. Therefore, conversion and modification of SS to decrease its toxicity has resulted in advanced methods. Co-pyrolysis of SS with other amendments is an ideal treatment resulting in an environmentally safe and nutrient rich final products with additional properties to sequester carbon. In the present study, a novel biochar was produced through the microwave pyrolysis of SS mixed with zeolite and sawdust. The pyrolysis product was thus characterized for elemental composition, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and for its effects on soil microbial characteristics, soil health and plant biomass after soil application. Results Results revealed that, the SS modification resulted in stable product with higher nutrients which further depend on the type and ratio of feedstock used. Its application to soil significantly improved soil chemical and microbiological properties and altered lettuce biomass. Conclusions We concluded that sawdust feedstock promoted nutrient availability in the resulting biochar and induced higher activity of nutrient mineralizing enzymes, whereas zeolite slowed down the release of nutrients from soil and putatively immobilized enzymes. This joint effect of sewage sludge biochar, sawdust and zeolite benefited the plant acquisition of nutrients in comparison with the microbial nutrient uptake. We thus conclude that microwave pyrolyzed SS could be used as a soil enhancer. Graphical Abstract

The content of photosynthetic pigments, especially chlorophylls, has a significant effect on the quality, viability, and storability of seeds. Determination of photosynthetic pigments together with the correlation with seed quality parameters, such as germination and radicle emergence, lead to the possibility of using the pigments content as a new indicator of seed quality. The photosynthetic pigments content was determined spectrophotometrically from extracts of commercial mature seeds of carrot, celery, dill, parsley, and parsnip. The content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, β-carotene, and lutein varied among species of family Apiaceae and among varieties within species. Spectrophotometry was verified as easy, quick, and inexpensive method that can be used for the determination of photosynthetic pigments in mature seeds. The individual pigments content was compared to seed quality parameters such as standard germination, germination speed index (GSI), and radicle emergence (RE), which was carried out at 72, 96, 120, 144, and 168 h. Based on the correlation of photosynthetic pigments content with seed quality parameters (GSI and RE), chlorophyll b and lutein content were selected, and can be used as the new markers of seed quality.