Acetylene Resembling Effect of Ethylene on Seed Germination: Evaluating the Effect of Acetylene Released from Calcium Carbide

Kambiz Mashayekhi,Seyyed Javad Mousavizadeh,Aida Shomali

doi:10.15835/nsb739629

Abstract

Some vegetable seeds need a very long time to germinate. In these kinds of seeds the second phase of germination is very long. As acetylene’s chemical structure is almost similar to the gaseous hormone ethylene, its’ physiological effect on seed germination should be very similar as well. Therefore, an experiment was established in order to enhance seed germination, by treating seeds with acetylene released from interaction of calcium carbide (CaC2) with water (H2O). A simple system was designed for efficient and proper use of gaseous acetylene resulted from the two substrates interaction, which conducted the produced gas obtained inside the interaction chamber into a sealed container wherein seeds were floating in water. This experiment aimed to evaluate the effect of one concentration of acetylene with different exposure periods (between 1 to 8 hours) on parsley, celery and Swees chard seeds’ germination (chosen as late germinating vegetables). The effect of acetylene on seed germination speed and percent was investigated. There were significant differences in both percent and speed of germination within the various treatments. By floating for 3, 5 and 3 hours for parsley, celery and Swiss chard respectively, the highest germination rates were observed. The highest germination speed was achieved by 5, 5 and 3 hours floating respectively for parsley, celery and Swiss chard. Based on the results obtained, the current experiment suggests that acetylene has positive effect on enhancing seed germination of named vegetables, and played the role of ethylene, its effects resembling in regard to seed germination process.

Highlights

Seed germination is the most important and the first step of vegetable growing
This study has shown the reasonable relation between different floating periods in acetylene solution on seed germination speed and percent (Table 1)
The highest germination percent was achieved by 2, 4 and 2 hours floating respectively for parsley, celery and Swiss chard, and the highest germination speed was noted in the case of 4, 4 and 2 hours floating interval respectively for parsley, celery and Swiss chard (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Seed germination is the most important and the first step of vegetable growing. A new method for improving seed germination is a valuable solution for preventing economical loss and obtaining higher yields and income. The effect of ethylene on breaking seed dormancy and initiation of seed germination was studied in many plants, including cereals (Taiz and Zeiger, 2002) and lettuce seeds (Abeles, 1986). The inhibitory effect of light or heat on lettuce seeds was noted and this was due to inhibition of ethylene production by these factors (Abeles et al, 2012). A positive correlation between increasing endogenous ethylene and the speed of germination was reported for peanut (Arachis hypogaea) seeds by Taiz and Zeiger (2002). Dutt et al (2004) showed the positive effect of 1-aminocyclopropane-1carboxylic acid (ACC) as an ethylene biosynthetic precursor, in reducing the time needed for seedlings’ emergence of Impatiens seeds

Methods

Results

Conclusion