No abstract

No abstract

Salicylic acid (SA) is a plant signaling molecule, which regulates various metabolic processes and involves in eliciting specific responses against abiotic/biotic stresses. Present study investigated the effect of SA on seed germination and seedling growth of salt stressed wheat. Wheat seeds were primed with water and two concentrations of SA (0.5 and 1.0 mM) for 12 h. For In-vitro experiment, seeds were soaked in 0, 50 and 100 mM NaCl solutions and seed germination and seedling growth parameters were studied. Primed seeds (both 0.5 and 1.0 mM SA) significantly improved seed germination, rate of germination, total chlorophyll, soluble sugars, proteins and phenolic content, as compared to non-primed and hydro-primed controls. For greenhouse experiment, hydro-primed (control) and SA primed (0.5 and 1.0 mM) seeds were grown in plastic pots and irrigated with 0 and 100 mM NaCl for 4 weeks. Plants emerged from SA primed seeds showed better response to salinity in which higher contents of photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, proteins and phenols contributed to enhanced growth and biomass production, as compare to control plants. Seed priming with 1.0 mM SA was found most effective to protect plants from damaging effects of salinity as compare to hydro-priming and 0.5 mM SA priming. Therefore, it is suggested that the priming of seeds with 1.0 mM SA can be adopted as a strategy to enhance wheat growth especially in salt affected soils.

No abstract

No abstract