Improving the Performance of Wheat by Seed Priming Under Saline Conditions

Abstract

Salinity is one of a major threat in harvesting good wheat stand on sustained basis. In this study, potential of seed priming techniques to improve the performance of wheat varieties (SARC‐1 and MH‐97) in a saline field was tested. For priming, wheat seeds were soaked in aerated solution of ascorbate (50 mg l−1; ascorbate priming), salicylic acid (50 mg l−1; salicylicate priming), kinetin (50 mg l−1; kinetin priming) and CaCl2 (50 mg l−1; osmopriming) for 12 h. For comparison, seeds were also soaked in simple water (hydropriming); in addition, untreated seeds were also taken as control. Seed priming treatments substantially improved the stand establishment; osmopriming (with CaCl2) was at the top however. Likewise maximum fertile tillers, grains per spike, 1000‐grain weight, grain yield and harvest index were observed in plants raised from seeds osmoprimed (with CaCl2) followed by ascorbate priming in both the varieties tested. As an index of salinity tolerance, seed priming treatments also improved the leaf K+ contents with simultaneous decrease in Na+ concentration, osmopriming being the best treatment. Similarly, maximum total phenolic contents, total soluble proteins (TSP), α‐amylase and protease activities were observed in osmoprimed (with CaCl2) seeds followed by ascorbate priming. Economic analysis also indicated that osmopriming is more viable with maximum net return and benefit‐to‐cost ratio. In conclusion, different seed priming treatments in wheat seeds improved the salinity tolerance nonetheless osmopriming (with CaCl2) was the most effective treatments to get higher grain yield and net return in both wheat varieties whereas kinetin was the least effective.

Molybdenum application enhances antioxidant enzyme activity and COR15a protein expression under cold stress in wheat

“…Two treatments (+Mo and −Mo) were applied to seeds of both varieties. Half of the seeds from each genotype were soaked in a solution containing 1% molybdate (NH 4 ) 6Mo7O 24 ·4H 2 O] (0.008 M) for 8 h at 20°C (Wang et al 1999;Jafar et al 2012), and the other half were soaked in distilled water for the same period (hydro priming) and then air dried until they reached their original moisture content (14%) (Ahmadi et al 2007). Seeds were then sown in trays in a growth cabinet (Snijder scientific) in order to obtain seedlings at the same physiological age.…”

Salt stress in maize: effects, resistance mechanisms, and management. A review

“…The ability of plants to survive and produce harvestable yields under salt stress is called salt resistance. Salt resistance is a complex phenomenon, and plants manifest a variety of adaptations at subcellular, cellular, and organ levels such as stomatal regulation, ion homeostasis, hormonal balance, activation of the antioxidant defense system, osmotic adjustment, and maintenance of tissue water status to grow successfully under salinity (Neubert et al 2005;de Azevedo Neto et al 2006;Hichem et al 2009;Schubert et al 2009;Kaya et al 2010;Jafar et al 2012). An integrated approach encompassing conventional breeding together with marker-assisted selection, biotechnology, exogenous use of growth regulators/ osmoprotectants, and nutrient management may be needed for successful maize cultivation on salt-affected soils (Eker et al 2006;Gunes et al 2007;Janmohammadi et al 2008;Kaya et al 2010;Li et al 2010).…”

Hydro-Priming of Seed Improves the Water Use Efficiency, Grain Yield and Net Economic Return of Wheat under Different Moisture Regimes

“…Harris (1996) demonstrated that simply soaking seeds in plain water before sowing could increase the speed and homogeneity of germination and emergence, leading to better crop stands, and stimulated seedlings to grow much more vigorously. Hydro priming, a simple hydration technique to a point of pregermination metabolisms without actual germination (Farooq et al, 2009b), is one of the most pragmatic, simple, economic and short-term approaches to combat the effects of drought (Kaya et al, 2006) and other abiotic stresses (Jafar et al, 2012) on seedling emergence and crop establishment. Hydro primed seeds usually have early, higher and synchronized germination owing to reduction in the lag time of imbibitions otherwise required much time (Brocklehurst and Dearman 2008) and build-up of germination enhancing metabolites (Farooq et al, 2006).…”