The Effect of Salinity (NaCl) Stress and Different Magnetic Applications on The Germination of Cucumber Seeds (Cucumis sativus L.)

Abstract

Salinity stress is one of the main factors that limit seed germination and plant growth. Therefore, magnetic water was used because it had a positive effect on seed germination. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of magnetic (MT1, MT2, MT3, MT4, and MT5) treatment of water passing through magnets 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 times respectively, and non-magnetic (NMT) treatment on the germination of cucumber seeds (Cucumis sativus L.) under salinity stress (NaCl) (S1 = 0.38 dSm-1, S2 = 4.0 dSm-1, S3 = 8.0 dSm-1). The experiment was conducted by the design of a one-way ANOVA with three replications. The results showed that water salinity stress a significantly decrease in the final germination percentage (FGP), germination index (GI), coefficient of the velocity of germination (CVG), germination percentage 4th day (GP), and germination rate index (GRI), while the mean germination time (MGT) increased significantly. In addition, the FGP, GP, GI, CVG, and GRI were significantly increased and the MGT was significantly decreased when using magnetic water compared to non-magnetic water. The highest values of FGP, GP, GI, CVG, and GRI were at S1 while they decreased by 7.8%, 10.0%, 15.8%, 2.4% and 16.2%, respectively in S3 (8.0 dSm-1), compared to S1 (0.38 dSm-1). The highest FGP values of 92.20% at MT4 were obtained with S1 salinity (0.38 dSm-1) and the lowest FGP value of 72.20% at NMT with water salinity S3 (8.0 dSm-1). The results of the research showed that magnetic water treatment has a positive effect on the germination of cucumber seeds and that salinity stress reduced the germination of seeds. Finally, it can be recommended to apply MT4 (water passed through the magnetic 5 times) to achieve the best germination of cucumber seeds.