Interruption of Seed Dormancy and In Vitro Germination of the Halophile Emerging Crop Suaeda edulis (Chenopodiaceae)

Francyelli Regina Costa-Becheleni,Enrique Troyo-Diéguez,Bernardo Murillo-Amador,Hugo Sergio García-Galindo,Alejandra Nieto-Garibay,Luis Alejandro Bustamante-Salazar

doi:10.3390/agronomy12010103

Abstract

Suaeda edulis (Flores Olvera & Noguez) is a halophile species that grows in saline environments, with concomitant difficulties to germinate and reproduce. Once a null germination under a salinity gradient or fresh water was observed, a plant-growth bioregulator (BioR) was applied to interrupt dormancy and improve germination in vitro. This BioR is composed of gibberellins and adjuvant regulators; and 12.5, 25.0, and 37.5 mg L−1 of gibberellins with immersion at 24, 48, and 72 h were assayed. Most of the normality and homoscedasticity tests were favorable, except in three of 24 cases. On the germination percentage (transformed values), the dose 25.0 mg L−1 reflected the highest values of 5.5 and 6.0 units at 48 and 72 h. For the mean germination time, the highest level of 37.5 mg L−1 at 24 h reflected the best response. For the germination rate, the best one was 25 mg L−1 at 48 h, reaching 12% per day, but for the germination speed coefficient, the best value was observed with 25.0 mg L−1 at 24 h. It was concluded that to improve germination of S. edulis seeds, it is necessary to assess a dose-gradient of gibberellins, starting at 25.0 mg L−1, with higher values to break dormancy.

Highlights

In México, the shrub-species Suaeda edulis (Flores Olvera & Noguez) of the family Amaranthaceae and subfamily Chenopodiaceae has a history and cuisine-culture, as part of the natural and cultural heritage of humanity [1,2]
We found that the immersion technique in distilled water was not favorable to break the dormancy of S. edulis seeds, so we infer that these seeds possess intermediate or deep physiological dormancy
We propose that the genus Suaeda and the species S. edulis are described as a group of wild plants with endogenous physiological dormancy (EPD) that have fully developed embryos

Summary

Introduction

In México, the shrub-species Suaeda edulis (Flores Olvera & Noguez) of the family Amaranthaceae and subfamily Chenopodiaceae has a history and cuisine-culture, as part of the natural and cultural heritage of humanity [1,2] It is an edible herb or vegetable appreciated as ‘Quelite’ from the ancient Nahuatl term ‘Quilitl’ since pre-Hispanic times for its beneficial health properties [3,4]. It is known as ‘Romerito’, popular in Mexican cuisine for preparing a wide variety of dishes consumed by local inhabitants at Christmas and Easter [5]. It is relevant to investigate methods for promoting a successful propagation of the species [11], as seeds are crucial for reproduction, dispersal, expansion, and survival [12]

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Conclusion