Maternal salinity improves yield, size and stress tolerance of Suaeda fruticosa seeds

Abstract

Shrubby seablite or lani (Suaeda fruticosa Forssk) is a perennial euhalophyte with succulent leaves, which could be planted on arid-saline lands for restoration and cultivated as a non-conventional edible or cash crop. Knowledge about the impacts of maternal saline environment on seed attributes of this important euhalophyte is lacking. This study investigated the effects of maternal salinity on yield, size and stress tolerance of S. fruticosa seeds. Seedlings of S. fruticosa were grown in a green net house under increasing maternal salinity levels (0, 300, 600 and 900 mM NaCl) until seed production. Total yield, size, stress tolerance and germination of the descended seeds under different maternal saline conditions were examined. Plants grown under saline conditions (300, 600 and 900 mM NaCl) produce a substantially higher quantity of seeds than plants grown under non-saline condition (0 mM NaCl). Low maternal salinity (300 mM NaCl) improves seed size. Seeds produced under all maternal salinity levels display a higher tolerance to low temperature (night/day thermoperiod of 10°C/20°C), whereas seeds produced under 300 mM NaCl maternal saline condition show a better tolerance to high temperature (night/day thermoperiod of 25°C/35°C) during germination. Seeds from all maternal saline conditions germinate better in the 12 h photoperiod (12 h light/12 h dark) than in the dark (24 h dark); however, seeds produced from low and moderate maternal saline conditions (300 and 600 mM NaCl) show a higher germination in the dark than those from control and high maternal saline conditions (0 and 900 mM NaCl). In general, maternal salinity is found to improve yield, size and stress tolerance of S. fruticosa seeds.

Salinity Duration Differently Modulates Physiological Parameters and Metabolites Profile in Roots of Two Contrasting Barley Genotypes

“…The total germination under dark was 80.8% and 68.8% for the cultivated and wild species, respectively ( Figure S2 ). The delay and lower germination of H. maritimum seeds compared to H. vulgare one may be due to the exposure of mother plants to saline habitat during the development that can affect the germination attributes of seeds [ 82 , 83 ].…”

Environmental predictors of seed germination in two Halocnemum species from Mediterranean (Balearic, Tyrrenic and Adriatic) and Red Sea coastal salt marshes

“…Therefore, the seeds from Sharm el Sheik are exposed in a natural environment to water stress conditions, which result from the low rainfall and high temperatures registered all year long, plus sandy soils make water retention difficult. In this sense, the effect of maternal conditions to improve salt tolerance for offspring of different species has also been evidenced by several authors (Mohamed et al, 2020;Shah et al, 2020). An opposite response is seen for the seeds collected from Ravenna, where clay is the main soil component and is responsible for high water retention capacity, long flooding periods and low salt concentrations.…”

Ecophysiological and Biochemical Responses Depicting Seed Tolerance to Osmotic Stresses in Annual and Perennial Species of Halopeplis in a Frame of Global Warming

“…In this sense, Ref. [49] reported an increased germination percentage and rate at low temperature regimes in seeds of another halophyte, Suaeda fruticosa, under high maternal salinity. Comparatively, H. amplexicaulis reached high germination percentage at the intermediate temperature regimes (25/15 • C) that corresponds to the period of higher precipitation (April, September and October) in the growing area.…”