Increase In Germination Index Research Articles

Effect of choline amino acid ionic liquids on maize seed germination and endogenous plant hormone levels.

Prior research has established choline-based ionic liquids (ILs) as safe for various organisms. However, their impact on plants has been underexplored. To identify effective eco-friendly ILs, we synthesized seven choline amino acid ([Chl][AA]) ILs and analyzed their physiological influence on maize seed germination. In contrast to the traditionally used N-octyl pyridinium bromide IL, these seven [Chl][AA] ILs exhibited substantially lower toxicity. Moreover, within a broad treatment concentration range (10-100 mg L-1), these ILs notably enhanced maize germination indices and root and shoot growth. Specifically, treatment with 100 mg L-1 choline tryptophan resulted in a 21.2% increase in germination index compared to those of control maize. Compared to the control, the application of choline serine, choline aspartic acid, choline phenylalanine, and choline tryptophan at 100 mg L-1 led to respective increases of 23.9%, 21.5%, 22.5%, and 24.5% in maize shoot length. Analysis of endogenous hormones and free amino acid contents revealed elevated levels of growth-promoting plant hormones (gibberellic acid and zeatin) in maize shoot tips, as well as increased contents of major amino acids (glutamate, glycine, and arginine) following treatment with different [Chl][AA] ILs at 100 mg L-1. These findings indicate that [Chl][AA] holds promise for the development and application of novel low-toxicity ILs.

From seed to sprout: Unveiling the potential of non-thermal plasma for optimizing cucumber growth

Background and aimsNumerous strategies for enhancing seed germination and growth have been employed over the decades. Despite these advancements, there continues to be a demand for more effective techniques, driven by the growing global population. Recently, various forms of non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma have garnered attention as environmentally friendly, safe, and cost-effective methods to enhance the agricultural and food sectors. This study explores the remarkable impact of non-thermal plasma (NTP) treatment on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seed germination. MethodsA cost-effective, custom-designed power supply operating at line frequency was used for treating seeds, with exposure times ranging from 1 to 7 min. Various germination parameters, including water contact angle measurements, mass loss, water imbibition rate, and seedling length, were evaluated to assess the impact of plasma treatment on seed germination. ResultsCucumber seeds exposed to NTP treatment for 3 min and 5 min durations showed significant germination improvements, notably a 57.9 ± 4.25 % higher final germination percentage, 14.5 ± 3.75 % reduced mean germination time, and a remarkable 90.6 ± 4.64 % increase in germination index compared to the control. These results suggest that NTP treatment enhanced seed coat permeability, triggered essential biochemical processes, and expedited water absorption and nutrient assimilation, ultimately fostering faster and more synchronized germination. ConclusionsOur findings underscore the potential of NTP as an innovative approach to improving seed germination in agricultural practices.

From piggery wastewater to wheat using microalgae towards zero waste

Microalgae production is still expensive, driving the need to lower costs while strengthening the industry's environmental sustainability. Microalgae are recognized tools for efficient wastewater treatment, offering the recycling of nutrients and water for agriculture, and producing biomass rich in growth-promoting compounds to improve plant productivity and resistance to adverse conditions. The use of wastewater can reduce cultivation costs as it is a source of nutrients and water. Alternative low-cost methods can significantly decrease harvesting costs, which represents one of the most expensive steps of the whole process.The goal of this work was to evaluate the potential of wastewater-grown microalga biomass for agriculture purposes. To reduce production costs, the microalga Tetradesmus obliquus was produced in pre-treated photo-Fenton (PF) piggery wastewater in combination with the use of different harvesting techniques - electrocoagulation, flocculation, and centrifugation, and different combinations. From the wastewater treatment process, two fractions (biomass and supernatant) were evaluated for germination and growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants and compared to non-harvested microalga culture (MC), distilled water, and Hoagland (synthetic) solution. The concentrated resulting from PF was also tested as a biofertilizer.The results confirm that both biomass and supernatants are useful for agricultural applications. The obtained biomass elicited a 20–105 % increase in germination index compared to the control, while supernatants were inhibiting. The opposite trend was observed at later stages of wheat growth, where the nutrient-enriched supernatants and the PF concentrate (PF-CC) increased the number of tillers (3–5) and leaves (30–42) after 83 days. Wheat plants treated with MC and PF-CC produced similar number of ears (3.4 ± 0.5 and 6.0 ± 4.1 ears per plant, respectively) than the synthetic control (5.7 ± 1.4) after 182 days. All fractions obtained from the process can be used in a zero-waste process.

Microalgae: Nature’s Green System to Recycle Waste to Resource

Dairy wastewater management is a major concern for many milk-producing countries as it is a serious nuisance to the surroundings when disposed of untreated, increasing the organic load and foul smell. Microalgae remediation is an easy and cost-effective treatment to treat the effluent and simultaneously enhance a few agronomic traits. In this research, the phytoremediation technique was validated by treating dairy effluent using microalgal consortium and to study its impact on seed germination assay of Vigna mungo (Black gram). The results exhibited a significant increase in germination index, vigor index, and germination percentage when undiluted effluent was treated with microalgal consortium followed by other dilutions. Seedling growth was found maximum in 100% microalgal treated (TE100) undiluted effluent followed by 75% dilution (TE75), 50% dilution (TE50), 25% dilution (TE25), (TE0) treated effluent and compared with controls: water, effluent, fertilizer. So, we conclude that dairy effluent treated with suitable microalgae can be used directly for irrigation purposes to produce plants with high yield and significant biomass, indirectly making the industry a place of zero-waste discharge.

Insight into the microbial mechanisms for the improvement of spent mushroom substrate composting efficiency driven by phosphate-solubilizing Bacillus subtilis

The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial mechanisms for the improvement of composting efficiency after Bacillus subtilis inoculation with soluble phosphorus function in the spent mushroom substrate (SMS) aerobic composting. The methods in this study, including redundant analysis (RDA), co-occurrence network analyze and Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt 2) were carried out studying the dynamic changes of phosphorus (P) components, microbial interactions and metabolic characteristics in the SMS aerobic composting inoculated with phosphorus-solubilizing B. subtilis (PSB). An increase in germination index (GI) (up to 88.4%), total nitrogen (TN) (16.6 g kg−1), available P content (0.34 g kg−1) and total P (TP) content (3.20 g kg−1) and a decrease in total organic carbon (TOC), C/N and electrical conductivity (EC) in final composting stage indicated B. subtilis inoculation could further improve maturity quality of the composting product compared with CK. Other results also demonstrated that PSB inoculation increased the stability of compost, humification degree and bacterial diversity, contributing to P fractions transformation in the composting process. Co-occurrence analysis suggested that PSB strengthened microbial interactions. Metabolic function of bacterial community analysis showed pathways such as carbohydrate metabolism, and amino acid metabolism in the composting were increased by effects of PSB inoculation. In summary, this study reveals a useful basis for better regulating the P nutrient level of the SMS composting and reducing environmental risks by inoculating B. subtilis with P solubilizing function.

Efficiency of pepper seed invigoration through hydrogen peroxide priming to improve in vitro salt and drought stress tolerance

Priming is considered a potential strategy to counteract the adverse effects of environmental stress factors via the exogenous application of chemicals to improve plant tolerance. In this context, herein, the priming of pepper seeds (Capsicum annuum L. Tunisian var. ‘Baklouti Medenine’) using different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2; 1–100 mM) was carried out in in vitro culture subjected to abiotic stress. Seed germination was carried out on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, supplemented with stress-inducing agents: sodium chloride (NaCl 85.55 mM) or polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000, 3%) for induction of salt or drought conditions, respectively. The results revealed that depending in priming concentration and medium culture, H2O2 priming enables faster germination for both salt- or drought-stressed seeds, associated with the decline of mean germination time (MGT), time taken for cumulative germination to reach 50% of its maximum (t50) and germination rate (GR), and the increase in germination index (GI). The primed seeds showed great uniformity, reflected by a reduction in time interval between 25% and 75% of viable seeds to germinate (U7525). Under both stress-free and drought stress conditions, priming at 10 mM H2O2 showed a significant decrease of MGT, t50, and GR and an increase in GI. Similarly, the best uniformity (U7525) was obtained at this priming level. Following salinity stress, application of a low concentration of H2O2 (1 mM) reduced t50 and increased GI, versus no significant changes for MGT and GR and a regression in uniformity. No positive effect was noted for H2O2 priming in the final germination percentage and seedling vigor for all cultures. This study suggests that H2O2 priming invigorates pepper seed germination and alleviates the negative effects of salt and drought via the enhancement of seed tolerance.

Physico-chemical and Spectroscopy Assessment of Sludge Biodegradation During Semi-industrial Composting Under Semi-arid Climate

The purpose of this study is to assess the maturity and stability of the lagooning sludge (LS) with green waste (GW) during semi-industrial composting. Physico-chemical parameters, spectroscopy analysis and germination test were monitored. After 105 days, the decomposition rate of about 33.6; 39 and 36%, a stabilization of pH around neutrality; NH4+/NO3− ratio decreased to 0.922, 0.974 and 1.038; the C/N ratio decreased to 9.47, 9.24 and 10.10 respectively for mixture 1 (M1), mixture 2 (M2) and mixture 3 (M3). This reduction is explained by the bio-oxidation of organic matter. The intense microbial activity was characterized by the rise of temperature (between 40 and 50 °C) during the first weeks. Humification process was characterized by the increase of humification index (HI), which was approximately 62.1%; 73.6%; 61.5% respectively for M1, M2 and M3. The progress of humification process was determined by the decrease of aliphatic absorbance bands and the increase of aromatic absorbance bands. The increase in germination index (GI) (> 50%) for the four seeds: cress, alfalfa, turnip and radish, at the end of composting indicated that the composts are phytotoxic-free and are rich in stable organic compounds and nutrients. The results show that all three composts are mature, which opens the way for their application in agriculture without risk for the soil–plant system.

REDUCE THE ADVERSE IMPACT OF HIGH TEMPERATURE ON THE GREEN GARLIC PRODUCTION FOR EXPORT

This work was carried out at a private farm in Tokh, Kalubia,Gov., Egypt during the two successive seasons of 2013/14 and 2014/15,using randomized complete block design with three replications to studythe effect of pre-soaking seed cloves and foliar spray of silicon (Si),selenium (Se) concentrations and their combinations on germination,early seedlings growth, marketable and total green yield as well aschemical constituents of garlic planted under high temperatureconditions of late summer (End of August). The results of this studyshowed that planting garlic under high temperature stress lead to drop inboth rate and speed of germination, which reflected on growth and yield.However, soaking seed cloves in 4 mg/L silicon and/or 2 mg/L seleniumsolutions significantly increased in each of percentage, speed andcoefficient velocity of germination as well as seed vigor index comparedwith untreated control. The soaking seed cloves in silicon at 4 mg/L. wasfound to produce more increase in germination index and early seedlingsgrowth compared to selenium at 2 mg/L. The highest values of bulbcharacters, marketable and total green yield, as well as chemicalconstituents were achieved with application both Si and Se together ascombination in a mixture.

Enhanced reduction of phenol content and toxicity in olive mill wastewaters by a newly isolated strain of Coriolopsis gallica

The search for novel microorganisms able to degrade olive mill wastewaters (OMW) and withstand the toxic effects of the initially high phenolic concentrations is of great scientific and industrial interest. In this work, the possibility of reducing the phenolic content of OMW using new isolates of fungal strains (Coriolopsis gallica, Bjerkandera adusta, Trametes versicolor, Trichoderma citrinoviride, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Gloeophyllum trabeum, Trametes trogii, and Fusarium solani) was investigated. In vitro, all fungal isolates tested caused an outstanding decolorization of OMW. However, C. gallica gave the highest decolorization and dephenolization rates at 30 % v/v OMW dilution in water. Fungal growth in OMW medium was affected by several parameters including phenolic compound concentration, nitrogen source, and inoculum size. The optimal OMW medium for the removal of phenolics and color was with the OMW concentration (in percent)/[(NH4)2SO4]/inoculum ratio of 30:6:3. Under these conditions, 90 and 85 % of the initial phenolic compounds and color were removed, respectively. High-pressure liquid chromatography analysis of extracts from treated and untreated OMW showed a clear and substantial reduction in phenolic compound concentrations. Phytotoxicity, assessed using radish (Raphanus sativus) seeds, indicated an increase in germination index of 23-92 % when a 30 % OMW concentration was treated with C. gallica in different dilutions (1/2, 1/4, and 1/8).