Effects of priming duration and rhizosphere bacteria metabolite concentration on the germinability of cowpea, soybean, sesame, and okra seeds

Abstract

Seed priming enhances germination and growth, which are important determinants of crop yield. This study was carried out to assess the effect of priming duration and metabolite concentration on the priming of five (5) crops using the metabolites of five (5) bacterial isolates. The crop seeds were treated in the cold-extracted metabolites of the five isolates at five (5) different priming durations (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 h) and then in five metabolite concentrations (200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 mg/L) of the five extracted metabolites at the optimal priming duration determined in the first experiment. Characterization of the cold-extracted metabolites was also carried out using gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results revealed that priming cowpea and soybean seeds for longer durations (< 3 h) could hinder their growth and development. Lower concentrations were observed to be optimal for cowpea and soybean, but for sesame and okra, there was no detectable pattern with metabolite concentration. The GC-MS revealed the presence of some molecules (e.g. hexadecanoic acid) that have shown plant growth promotion potential in other studies. This study showed that seeds with large endosperms, such as those of cowpea and soybean, are more prone to the harmful effects of treatment for longer durations. Further experiments should be undertaken to isolate and purify the bioactive moieties for further studies and application.