Abstract
Effect of seed-priming with potassium (K) sources (K-nano-chelate, KNC, and sulfate (0, 2 and 4 %)) under drought stress (DS) conditions (0, -0.3, -0.6, -0.9, -1.2 and -1.5 MPa water potential) on the corn seedling traits was studied. Drought stress decreased the germination indices and seedling vigor. The highest germination, seminal root fresh and dry mass (RFM and RDM) was obtained in KNC primed seeds at -0.3 MPa DS. Mean germination time increased under DS conditions mainly in non-primed seeds. Increasing DS to -1.2 MPa led to decrease in RFM and RDM. Influence of DS on the fresh mass of shoots was more severe than on seminal roots. The highest shoots and seminal roots length was observed in 4 % KNC without any DS. Proper priming can be suggested to increase the plant tolerance under DS.
Highlights
In arid and semiarid regions, drought, as an abiotic stress, is one of the major factors limiting plant growth at various stages of their life
Findings revealed that seed priming with the highest level (4 %) of K-nano chelate and K-sulfate increased the mean values of Shoot length (SL) over all of applied water potentials, significantly as compared to that of control
The maximum value of Seminal root length (SRL) was observed in seeds primed with 4 % K-nano chelate without drought stress and at the lowest level of applied water potential (-0.3 MPa)
Summary
In arid and semiarid regions, drought, as an abiotic stress, is one of the major factors limiting plant growth at various stages of their life. Water stress in plants reduces the water potential and turgor and increases concentration of solutes in cytosol. Hegarty (1978) demonstrated that if water potential of the growth medium is reduced, due to low water availability or high soil salt concentration, germination may be delayed or prevented depending upon the extent of reduction in water potential. Mexal et al (1975) demonstrated that PEG amendment reduces oxygen solubility and diffusivity, which have been shown to decrease as a function of PEG solution concentration. A PEGinduced reduction in oxygen availability, does not appear to be the limiting factor to germination response. The critical aspect of oxygen availability may be the distance between the seeds and the air/water interface over which oxygen would have to diffuse (Hardegree and Emmerich, 1994)
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