The present study was conducted to investigate whether salt tolerance may be induced in wheat at germination stage by halopriming with different inorganic salts (CaCl 2 , NaCl and CaSO 4 ), and how far these salts affect the mobilization of different nutrients to different parts of seedlings. Seeds of two wheat cultivars (Inqlab-91 and SARC-1) were primed in 50 mmol solutions of CaCl 2 , NaCl or CaSO 4 for 12 h separately and germinated under non-saline and saline (125 mmol NaCl) conditions. All seed treatments hastened germination under saline and non-saline conditions as compared to those of non-primed seeds. However, priming with CaSO 4 enhanced germination of both cultivars under saline conditions more than any other treatment. Maximum root length and fresh and dry weights were obtained in plants raised from seeds primed with CaSO 4 followed by CaCl 2 . Concentrations of Na + and K + in seedlings obtained after priming changed significantly. However, Na + was highest in seedlings raised from seeds primed with NaCl whereas the concentration of K + was highest in the seedlings primed with CaSO 4 . Maximum total sugars and reducing sugars were observed when seeds were treated with CaCl 2 followed by CaSO 4 . In addition, SARC-1 overcame Inqlab-91 in all growth parameters of the seedlings. In conclusion, different salts used for priming in wheat seeds improved the salt stress tolerance; however, CaSO 4 and CaCl 2 proved to be the most effective priming agents in inducing salt tolerance in both wheat cultivars whereas NaCl was a less effective priming agent.

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Increasing the sunflower seed oil content as well as improving its quality makes it compatible for industrial demands. This is an important breeding objective of sunflower which increases its market value and ensures high returns for the producers. The present review focuses on determining the progress of improving sunflower seed oil content and modifying its quality by empirical and advanced molecular breeding methods. It is known that the sunflower oil content and quality have been altered through empirical selection methods and mutation breeding programmes in various parts of the world. Further improvement in seed oil content and its components (such as phytosterols, tocopherols and modified fatty acid profile) has been slowed down due to low genetic variation in elite germplasm and complex of hereditary traits. Introgression from wild species can be carried out to modify the fatty acids profile and tocopherol contents with linkage drags. Different transgenes introduced through biotechnological methods may produce novel long-chain fatty acids within sunflower oil. Bio-engineering of sunflower oil could allow it to be used in diverse industrial products such as bio-diesel or bio-plastics. These results showed that past and current trends of modifying sunflower oil quality are essential for its further expansion as an oilseed crop. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Proline concentration has been often suggested as an indicator of osmotic stress. A better understanding of the genetics of this trait is however needed. In the present study, proline concentration has been assessed, together with root and stem growth, potassium, calcium and total soluble sugars concentration and stress injury symptoms, in seedlings of sunflower hybrids and their parents grown under control and osmotic conditions. Proline strongly accumulated with osmotic stress. Its concentration exhibited a large variation among genotypes and was higher in hybrids than in parental lines. A positive association was noted between proline concentration and osmotic adjustment that was reflected in a reduction of osmotic stress induced injury, as showed by the reduced number of calli in the hybrids with higher proline concentration. Broad and narrow sense heritability was higher under osmotic stress suggesting applying the selection in osmotic stress condition. In the control treatment, dominance effects explained most of the genetic variation for proline concentration while under osmotic stress both dominance and additive variance were high. The importance of dominance and additive effects suggested that several genomic regions are controlling this trait. Good general combiners, presumably carrying positive additive alleles affecting proline concentration, were identified.