Improvement Of Seed Germination Research Articles

Biopriming of seeds with microbial biostimulant (Bacillus megaterium ) on improvement of seedling growth, biochemical and root traits of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

This study aimed to evaluate the potential of Bacillus megaterium in improvingseed germination and rice seedling's morpho-physiological andbiochemical traits. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomizeddesign to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of the biostimulantB. megaterium on rice seedlings growth and development undernursery conditions. Biopriming seeds with B. megaterium significantly enhancedseed germination and seedling traits, such as seedling shoot androot length, seedling height, number of leaves, seedling vigor, and shootand root dry biomass, compared to the untreated control. Among the treatments,biopriming seeds with B. megaterium at a concentration of 10g kg-1resulted in the greatest improvements across all the recorded parameters.Root traits such as total root length, surface area, average root diameter,root volume, and root tips and forks were also significantly enhanced. Additionally,biochemical changes like total chlorophyll and soluble protein contentshowed notable improvements with the concentration of B. megaterium. Hence, these results suggest that biopriming seeds with B. megateriumare an efficient strategy to improve seed germination and shoot and rootvigor in rice seedlings.

Improvement of Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of African Rosewood (Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir) by Seed Pretreatment, Seedling Substrate and Growing Medium

Improvement of Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of African Rosewood (Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir) by Seed Pretreatment, Seedling Substrate and Growing Medium

Rice Seed Germination Improvement by Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Surface Modification With Water Buffer

Rice Seed Germination Improvement by Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Surface Modification With Water Buffer

Titanium Nanoparticle and Humic Acid Applications Improve Seed Germination, Growth Development, and Phytochemical Contents of Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa) Plants

Titanium Nanoparticle and Humic Acid Applications Improve Seed Germination, Growth Development, and Phytochemical Contents of Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa) Plants

Plant-Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria Improve Seeds Germination and Growth of Argania spinosa.

Argania spinosa is among the most important species of the Moroccan forest in terms of ecological, environmental, and socio-economic aspects. However, it faces a delicate balance between regeneration and degradation in its natural habitat. Hence, the efforts to preserve and regenerate argan forests are crucial for biodiversity, soil quality, and local livelihoods, yet they face challenges like overgrazing and climate change. Sustainable management practices, including reforestation and community engagement, are vital for mitigating degradation. Similarly, exploiting the argan tree's rhizosphere can enhance soil quality by leveraging its rich microbial diversity. This approach not only improves crop growth but also maintains ecosystem balance, ultimately benefiting both agriculture and the environment. This enrichment can be achieved by different factors: mycorrhizae, plant extracts, algae extracts, and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). The benefits provided by PGPR may include increased nutrient availability, phytohormone production, shoot, root development, protection against several plant pathogens, and disease reduction. In this study, the effect of rhizobacteria isolated from the Agran rhizosphere was evaluated on germination percentage and radicle length for Argania spinosa in vitro tests, growth, collar diameter, and branching number under greenhouse conditions. One hundred and twenty (120) bacteria were isolated from the argan rhizosphere and evaluated for their capacity for phosphate solubilization and indole acetic acid production. The results showed that 52 isolates could solubilize phosphorus, with the diameters of the solubilization halos varying from 0.56 ± 0.14 to 2.9 ± 0.08 cm. Among 52 isolates, 25 were found to be positive for indole acetic acid production. These 25 isolates were first tested on maize growth to select the most performant ones. The results showed that 14 isolates from 25 tested stimulated maize growth significantly, and 3 of them by 28% (CN005, CN006, and CN009) compared to the control. Eight isolates (CN005, CN006, CN004, CN007, CN008, CN009, CN010, and CN011) that showed plant growth of more than 19% were selected to evaluate their effect on argan germination rate and radicle length and were subjected to DNA extraction and conventional Sanger sequencing. The 8 selected isolates were identified as: Brevundimonas naejangsanensis sp2, Alcaligenes faecalis, Brevundimonas naejangsanensis sp3, Brevundimonas naejangsanensis sp4, Leucobacter aridicollis sp1, Leucobacter aridicollis sp2, Brevundimonas naejangsanensis sp1, and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. The results showed that Leucobacter aridicollis sp2 significantly increased the germination rate by 95.83%, and the radicle length with a value of 2.71 cm compared to the control (1.60 cm), followed by Brevundimonas naejangsanensis sp3 and Leucobacter aridicollis sp1 (2.42 cm and 2.11 cm, respectively). Under greenhouse conditions, the results showed that the height growth increased significantly for Leucobacter aridicollis sp1 (42.07%) and Leucobacter aridicollis sp2 (39.99%). The isolates Brevundimonas naejangsanensis sp3 and Leucobacter aridicollis sp1 increased the gain of collar diameter by 41.56 and 41.21%, respectively, followed by Leucobacter aridicollis sp2 and Staphyloccocus saprophyticus (38.68 and 22.79%). Leucobacter aridicollis sp1 increased the ramification number per plant to 12 compared to the control, which had 6 ramifications per plant. The use of these isolates represents a viable alternative in sustainable agriculture by improving the germination rate and root development of the argan tree, as well as its development, while increasing the availability of nutrients in the soil and consequently improving fertilization.

Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Functionalized with Cyclodipeptides Improve Seed Germination and Early Development of Solanum lycopersicum

Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Functionalized with Cyclodipeptides Improve Seed Germination and Early Development of <i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>

Improvement of Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Faba Bean (Vicia Faba L.) through Seed Priming

In a lab experiment using seed priming, the faba bean (Vicia faba L.) seed germination and seedling development were studied. Twenty different priming techniques were utilized in the study, each comprising varying concentrations of NaOCI, CaCl2, KNO3, Manitol, PEG, KCL, H2O and a control group that received no priming. Four replications of a completely randomized design (CRD) were used in the experiment. Among the three priming treatments, there were substantial differences in the seedling growth metrics and germination rate. When 500 ppm NaOCl was used as a treatment, the highest seed germination percentage (96%) was attained. Although 100 ppm PEG had the greatest germination index (42.92), 10000 ppm NaOCl had the quickest mean germination time (8.27). Additionally, at a concentration of 1500 ppm NaOCl, the greatest seedling vigor index (29.79) and maximum germination coefficient (12.28) were likewise obtained. With H2O treatment, the maximum shoot length (21.09 cm) was observed for seedling growth parameters. The largest root length was produced by a 10000 ppm KNO3 treatment (11.19 cm). With 20000 ppm KNO3, the maximum root dry weight was achieved (88.50 mg), whereas H2O produced the highest shoot dry weight (51.0 mg). Additionally, it was discovered that a treatment with 10000 ppm KNO3 had the best root-shoot ratio (0.72). The research thus supports the possible use of seed priming as a method to improve faba bean seed germination and seedling growth. NaOCl and KNO3 seemed to work best for faba bean seed germination and seedling growth.

Comprehensive Metal-Based Nanopriming for Improving Seed Germination and Initial Growth of Field Pea (Pisum sativum L.)

Nanopriming is a newly developed seed technology that improves seed germination, initial plant growth, and crop yield by enabling plants to withstand a variety of abiotic stresses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of comprehensive metal-based (Co, Mn, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mo, and Se) nanopriming as compared to hydro- and non-primed seeds of three different pea cultivars in a germination test. Seed priming with nanoparticles (NPs) improved field pea quality via significant increase in germination energy (cv. E-244), final germination (cv. E-244, cv. Dukat), shoot length (cv. E-244, cv. Partner), root length (cv. E-244, cv. Dukat, cv. Partner), fresh shoot weight (cv. Partner), dry shoot weight (cv. Partner), seedling vigor index (cv. E-244, cv. Partner), and chlorophyll content (cv. Dukat, cv. Partner), as compared to both hydropriming and the control. Moreover, nanopriming led to significant improvements in shoot length, fresh shoot length, dry shoot length, seedling vigor index (cv. Dukat), and dry root weight (cv. E-244) as compared to the control only. In general, the highest effect on the examined parameters was achieved by nanopriming, indicating that this treatment may be utilized to raise field pea quality performance. To optimize the method, it is necessary to conduct extensive laboratory and field trials.

Optimizing Priming Concentration and Duration of PEG 6000 for Improving Seed Germination and Vigour in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

This study was undertaken with different concentration and duration of PEG-6000 to observe the effect of germination and seedling vigour in chickpea seeds. The experiment was conducted in seed testing laboratory, Department of Seed Science and Technology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India during 2020-2021 following Complete Randomized Block Design with three replications in order to standardize the appropriate concentration and duration while soaking the seeds within PEG-6000 solution for screening a range of duration concentrations viz, 10 g liter-1 for 6 hrs, 10 g liter-1 for 8 hrs, 10 g liter-1 for 10 hrs, 15 g liter-1 for 6 hrs , 15 g liter-1 for 8 hrs, 15 g liter-1 for 10 hrs, 20 g liter-1 for 6 hrs, 20 g liter-1 for 8 hrs, 20 g liter-1 for 10 hrs, 25 g liter-1 for 6 hrs, 25 g liter-1 for 8 hrs, 25 g liter-1 for 10 hrs. Untreated dry seeds were considered as control. It was found that all the priming treatments showed significance difference in overall including the control. The best performer or the better result was shown by T8 which is 20 gm/ liter solution with the soaking duration of 8 hrs. It was highest performer in germination percentage (93.77), root length (6.57 cm), shoot length (16.57 cm), seedling fresh weight (1.66 g), seedling dry weight (0.14 g), seedling vigour index I (2137.07), time to 50% germination (2.33 days) and germination index (77.82). This study showed that seed priming with osmotic solution could improve some seedling parameters in chickpea. In seed priming, its simplicity such as no requirements for extensive equipment and chemicals could be used method for overcoming problems related to a poor germination and further seedling establishment and helps in sustaining agriculture with a cost effective approach and with the help of seed priming treatments which are non-toxic and from eco-friendly sources.

New Functionalized Chitosan with Thio-Thiadiazole Derivative with Enhanced Inhibition of Pathogenic Bacteria, Plant Threatening Fungi, and Improvement of Seed Germination

In this study, a new modified chitosan conjugate (Chito-TZ) was developed via amide coupling between the acid chloride derivative of the methylthio-thidiazole compound and the free primary amino groups of chitosan. The product was characterized using several instrumental investigations, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), 1H-Nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD indicated that the crystalline pattern of chitosan was interrupted after chemical modification with the thiadiazole derivative. Broido’s model was used to determine the thermal activation energy Ea, and the results showed that the Ea for the first decomposition region of Chito-TZ is 24.70 KJ mol−1 lower than that required for chitosan (95.57 KJ mol−1), indicating the accelerating effect of the thiadiazole derivative on the thermal decomposition of Chito-TZ. The modified chitosan showed better antibacterial and antifungal activities than the non-modified chitosan; except for seed germination, chitosan was better. The Chito-TZ showed a low MIC value (25–50 µg mL−1) compared to Chito (50–100 µg mL−1). Moreover, the maximum inhibition percentages for plant-pathogenic fungi, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, and Fusarium solani, were attained at a concentration of 300 µg mL−1 with values of 35.4 ± 0.9–39.4 ± 1.7% for Chito and 45.2 ± 1.6–52.1 ± 1.3% for Chito-TZ. The highest germination percentages (%) of broad bean, shoot and root length and weight, and seed vigor index were obtained after Chito treatment with a concentration of 200 µg mL−1 compared to Chito-TZ.

Pretreated Eucalyptus globulus and Pinus radiata Barks: Potential Substrates to Improve Seed Germination for a Sustainable Horticulture

Commercial forest plantations in Chile are dominated by pine (Pinus radiata) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus). Tree bark is the main by-product of the forestry industry and has low value, but great potential for use as an agricultural substrate. However, the direct use of bark fibers may cause plant phytotoxicity due to the presence of polyphenolic and other compounds. This study aims to evaluate the physicochemical properties of E. globulus and P. radiata bark after water extraction treatments. The phytotoxicity of the resulting extracted bark alone and that mixed with commercial substrates (coconut fiber, moss, peat, and composted pine) at different ratios (25 to 75 wt%) were assessed using the Munoo-Liisa vitality index (MLVI) test. For all treatments, the seed germination and growth of radish (Raphanus sativus) and Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) species were evaluated and compared to a commercial growing medium (peat) as a control. The optimal mixture for seed growth was determined to be 75% extracted E. globulus bark fiber and 25% commercial substrates such as peat (P), coconut fiber (C), moss (M), and composted pine (CP), as indicated by the MLVI and germination results. Two phytostimulant products, chitosan and alginate-encapsulated fulvic acid, were added to the best substrate mixture, with the purpose of improving their performance. Encapsulated fulvic acid at 0.1% w/v was effective in promoting plant growth, while chitosan at all of the concentrations studied was effective only for mixture 75E-25CP. The mixture of E. globulus fiber and commercial substrates, containing a high proportion of water-extracted fiber (75%), shows the potential to be used in the growth of horticultural crops and in the plant nursery industry.

Seed Priming with Fullerol Improves Seed Germination, Seedling Growth and Antioxidant Enzyme System of Two Winter Wheat Cultivars under Drought Stress

The application of carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNMs) in plant science and agriculture is a very recent development. Many studies have been conducted to understand the interactions between CBNMs and plant responses, but how fullerol regulates wheat subjected to drought stress is still unclear. In this study, seeds of two wheat cultivars (CW131 and BM1) were pre-treated with different concentrations of fullerol to investigate seed germination and drought tolerance. Our results indicate that the application of fullerol at certain concentrations (25-200 mg L-1) significantly promoted seed germination in two wheat cultivars under drought stress; the most significant effective concentration was 50 mg L-1, which increased the final germination percentage by 13.7% and 9.7% compared to drought stress alone, respectively. Wheat plants exposed to drought stress induced a significant decrease in plant height and root growth, while reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents increased significantly. Interestingly, wheat seedlings of both cultivars grown from 50 and 100 mg L-1 fullerol-treated seeds were promoted in seedling growth under water stress, which was associated with lower ROS and MDA contents, as well as higher antioxidant enzyme activities. In addition, modern cultivars (CW131) had better drought adaptation than old cultivars (BM1) did, while the effect of fullerol on wheat had no significant difference between the two cultivars. The study demonstrated the possibility of improving seed germination, seedling growth and antioxidant enzyme activities by using appropriate concentrations of fullerol under drought stress. The results are significant for understanding the application of fullerol in agriculture under stressful conditions.

Improvement of Seed Germination under Salt Stress via Overexpressing Caffeic Acid O-methyltransferase 1 (SlCOMT1) in Solanum lycopersicum L.

Melatonin (MT) is a phytohormone-like substance and is profoundly involved in modulating nearly all aspects of plant development and acclimation to environmental stressors. However, there remain no studies about the effects of MT on tomato seed germination under salt stress. Here we reported that the overexpression of caffeic acid O-methyltransferase 1 (SlCOMT1) significantly increased both MT content and salt tolerance in the germinated seeds of a transgenic tomato relative to wild type (WT) samples. Physiological investigation showed higher amylase activity in the stressed overexpression seeds than WT, leading to the promoted starch decomposition and enhanced soluble sugar content. The stimulated production of osmolytes and enhanced activities of SOD, POD, and CAT, together with the significant reduction in H2O2 and O2·- accumulation, were revealed in the stressed overexpression seeds relative to WT, largely accounting for their lower membrane lipid peroxidation. qPCR assay showed that, upon salt stress, the transcript abundance of hub genes related to germination (SlCYP707A1, SlABA1, SlGA3ox2 and SlGA2ox4) and stress tolerance (SlCDPK1, SlWRKY33 and SlMAPK1) were distinctly altered in the overexpression samples when compared to WT, providing a molecular basis for MT-mediated improvement of seed salt tolerance. Altogether, our observations shed new insights into biological functions of SlCOMT1 and could expand its utilization in genetic improvement of tomato salt tolerance in future.

Seed Priming for Improving Seed Germination and Growth of Peach cv. Sharbati

Seed Priming for Improving Seed Germination and Growth of Peach cv. Sharbati

Seed-Soaking with Melatonin for the Improvement of Seed Germination, Seedling Growth, and the Antioxidant Defense System under Flooding Stress

Flooding is the main cause of inhibited seed germination and seedling growth during the direct seeding of rice. As a growth-regulating hormone, melatonin plays an important role in promoting seed germination and enhancing plant stress resistance. However, there are still many unknown mechanisms related to the exogenous-melatonin-mediated regulation of submergence tolerance during seed germination. To overcome these challenges, this study investigated the effects of seed-soaking with different melatonin concentrations on the germination and physiological characteristics of rice seeds over different flooding times. The results showed that the exogenous administration of 100 μM of melatonin significantly improved the germination potential, germination rate, germination index, and vigor index of seeds and increased the size of the aboveground and underground biomass. By increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) in shoots and roots, and reducing the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), the 100 μM melatonin alleviated the damage of rice seeds under flooding stress. The gray relational grade between the root MDA content and the melatonin seed-soaking treatment was the highest, and this was used to evaluate the effect of melatonin in alleviating flooding stress. A two-factor analysis of variance showed that the flooding stress treatment and the melatonin treatment had more significant effects on rice seed germination than the flooding and melatonin interaction treatments (p &lt; 0.01). The optimal number of days for rice seeds to resist flooding stress was two, and the optimal concentration for the melatonin seed-soaking treatment was 100 μM. In sum, a 100 μM melatonin seed-soaking treatment can effectively alleviate the damage of flooding stress on rice seeds and promote the growth and development of seedlings. This study provides the theoretical basis for a light and simple cultivation technique for the direct seeding of rice.

Bio-Priming of Soybean with Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Bacillus megaterium: Strategy to Improve Seed Germination and the Initial Seedling Growth.

Bio-priming is a new technique of seed treatment that improves seed germination, vigor, crop growth and yield. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Bradyrhizobium japonicum (commercial strains) and Bacillus megaterium (newly isolated strains) as a single inoculant and co-inoculant during seed bio-priming to improve seed germination and initial seedling growth of two soybean cultivars. The treated seeds were subjected to germination test (GT), cold test (CT) and accelerated aging test (AAT). B. megaterium significantly improved all parameters in GT and CT; final germination, shoot length, root length, root dry weight, and seedling vigor index in AAT, as compared to control. In addition, co-inoculation significantly increased all parameters except shoot dry weight in GT; all parameters in CT; germination energy, shoot length, root length, and seedling vigor index in AAT, in comparison to the control. Moreover, Br. japonicum significantly improved the germination energy, shoot length, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, and seedling vigor index in GT; all parameters in CT; shoot length, root length, and seedling vigor index in AAT, compared with non-primed seeds. Thus, B. megaterium strains could be used in soybean bio-priming as a potential single inoculant and co-inoculant, following proper field evaluation.

The Effect of Different Pretreatments on Seed Dormancy Elimination and Seed Germination Improvement of Guava (Psidium guajava)

The Effect of Different Pretreatments on Seed Dormancy Elimination and Seed Germination Improvement of Guava (Psidium guajava)

Improvement of Seed Germination and Early Growth of Sunflower Under Non-Lethal Heat Stress Via Seed Priming with Potassium Nitrate

Improvement of Seed Germination and Early Growth of Sunflower Under Non-Lethal Heat Stress Via Seed Priming with Potassium Nitrate

Seed Germination Improvement, Emergence Uniformity and Seedling Health in Flue-Cured Tobacco by Dressing and Pelleting

To improve seed germination and seedling emergence of K326 flue-cured tobacco seedlings by disinfection and pelleting, this research was conducted at Tirtash Tobacco Research and Education Center, Behshahr, Iran. Tobacco seeds were pelleted with metalaxyl, thiophanate methyl, imidacloprid, thiomethoxam and thiodicarb and disinfected by heating the seeds in hot air at 60°C for one hour, with hot water at 50°C for 10 minutes and by 0.5% sodium hypochlorite for 4 minutes. The results showed that the lowest percentage of normal seedlings, seedling emergence immediately and one year after seed pelleting and rate of germination coefficient immediately after pelleting, was in case of pelleted seeds with 2 mm diameter. Non-pelleted seeds had the highest germination and seedling emergence did not decrease significantly one year after pelleting. The results of this study showed that all seed disinfection treatments improved germination and seedling emergence percentage in floating seedbed trays and transferable seedlings, also seedlings infected with collar rot, sciaridae fly and aphids were reduced. According to the results of this study, pelleted seeds with 1.5 mm diameter had better germination and seedling emergence.

Non-chemical treatments to improve the seeds germination and plantlets growth of sessile oak

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of different treatments applied to sessile oak seeds in order to improve the germination features, development and growth of seedlings. The seeds were subjected to electric field, electromagnetic field and γ rays’ treatments. For the electric field study three distinct voltages (10V, 30V and 50V) and three values of exposure time (15 min., 35 min. and 60 min.) were considered. Displaying the seeds in an electric field for 60 minutes increased the germination rate with 58.89%. The highest value for the seedling’s height was obtained when seeds were exposed for 15 minutes at an intensity of 30V. The interaction between the intensity and the timing showed that treating seeds with 30V for 35 minutes improved significantly the seedlings peculiarities. In regard to the electromagnetic field, the seeds were subjected to a single value of electromagnetic field (B=0,4mT; i=0,680 A) and three values of exposure time: 10 min., 20 min. and 30 min. The sessile oak seeds subjected to the electromagnetic field for 20 minutes induced the highest value of germination percentage (90.00%) and germination index (1.81) and those seeds produced plantlets with high diameter (2.69 mm) and with significant differences towards non-treated plants. For γ rays treatments a dosage of 2 Gy induced the highest value of germination percentage (86.67%), of germination index (2.02); of germination energy (7.7); and of germination speed (7.24). A dosage of 6 Gy decreased the values of the same parameters. Our results showed that a dosage of 2 Gy improved also the growth parameters such as plantlets diameter (2.65 mm) and height (11.25 cm). In short, the physical treatments represent an ecological substitute approach towards the chemical substances presently used to improve seeds germination. Using physical treatments for seeds germination and growth of seedlings might be a harmless alternative for environment.