Abstract
Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) is a constrain problem in hybrid rice production. The present study was conducted to investigate the inhibitory effect of eugenol on seed germination and PHS of hybrid rice variety (Qian You 1). The results showed that seed germination speed and the activities of α-amylase were inhibited by eugenol pre-soaking and these effects enhanced with the increasing of eugenol concentrations; while seedling growth was not negatively affected. In field trials, eugenol application caused a significant decline in PHS as compared with control, whereas no sustained inhibition in post-harvested seed germination was observed. The HPLC analysis indicated that eugenol raised the internal ABA content by 1–4 times more than control, and seeds treated with eugenol had relatively lower OsABA8OH2 and higher transcript levels of OsNCED2 expression during early stages of seed imbibitions. In addition, seed germinated faster after GA3 application than eugenol alone, and seed endogenous ABA content decreased obviously. It suggested that eugenol strongly delayed seed germination and the PHS in the field, which might be mainly due to the increased ABA contents caused by eugenol. However, the phenomenon of delayed germination and high ABA content caused by eugenol could be effectively recovered by exogenous GA3.
Highlights
Rice is one of the most important staple foods worldwide
No significant differences in GP were observed among control and eugenol treatments, indicating that the inhibitory effect of eugenol just on seed germination speed other than final germination percentage
Eugenol is the major constituent of clove [Syzygium aromaticum (L.)] essential oil, which is extracted and widely applied in multiple chemical industries
Summary
Rice is one of the most important staple foods worldwide. Hybrid rice varieties possess many remarkable advantages over conventional rice such as higher yield, stronger stress tolerance and better grain quality[1]. Abscisic acid (ABA) exhibits strong inhibitory effect on seed germination, but was not widely applied in practice due to its high cost. For this reason, we tried to seek an economical and environmental friendly product for practically reducing pre-harvest sprouting of rice in replacement for traditional chemical compounds. We performed field trial to evaluate the influence of eugenol on reducing pre-harvest sprouting and seed quality of hybrid rice after harvest. An environmentally safe inhibitor and its appropriate concentration would be developed to effectively delay seed germination and to reduce the damage caused by pre-harvest sprouting of hybrid rice
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