Seedling Vigor Research Articles

Scrutinizing harsh habitats endophytic fungi and their prospective effect on water-stressed maize seedlings.

Drought constitutes a significant abiotic stressor that hinders plant growth and productivity in many countries. Habitat-adapted endophytic fungi offer an environmentally sustainable approach to address this issue by promoting plant development and enhancing resilience against abiotic stresses. In this study, 30 endophytic fungal isolates were recovered from some wild plants in the extreme habitats of Port Said Governorate, Egypt, and evaluated for their drought tolerance using polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000). Only eight isolates demonstrated drought tolerance properties and were further evaluated for their plant growth-promoting biochemical activities and ability to improve maize germination under simulated drought conditions. All eight isolates exhibited enzyme activity for endo-1,4-β-glucanase, amylase, and pectinase, and most displayed significant nutrient mobilization, with siderophores production ranging from 4 to 89%, ammonia production from 1 to 7μmol/ml, and phosphate solubilization from 129to 256µg/ml. Additionally, all isolates showed strong antioxidant activity and high total phenolic content, with some also producing notable levels of indole acetic acid (IAA) and gibberellic acid (GA3) as plant growth hormones. Coating maize grains with spore suspensions of the eight fungal isolates, in general, significantly increased their germination parameters and seedling vigor in vitro under 8% PEG-6000. This enhancement was particularly pronounced with Neurospora sitophila (P8L4M1) and Penicillium tardochrysogenum (P15L4M1), which increased the vigor of maize seedlings by approximately 308% compared to untreated control. Molecular identification of P8L4M1 and P15L4M1 was performed by amplifying the 28S rRNA gene. This study disclosed unique endophytic fungal isolates with promising potential for enhancing drought resistance in maize.

Studies on Effect of Planting Dates on Seed Quality of Onion (Allium cepa L.) in North Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka, India

Aim: To study the effect of planting dates on seed quality of onion varieties. Study Design: Split plot design and FCRD. Place and Duration of Study: Agricultural Research Station, Hagari, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur (Karnataka) during Rabi 2023-24. Methodology: Two varieties as main plot with five planting dates as sub plots. Results: The results revealed that significantly highest seed germination (89.3 %), shoot length (8.97 cm), root length (7.02 cm) and seedling vigour index I and II (1428 and 1294, respectively) in D1 (1st fortnight of November). While, lowest seed germination (84.7 %), shoot length (7.65 cm), root length (6.04 cm), and seedling vigour index I and II (1250 and 1047, respectively) in D5 (1st fortnight of January). Among the varieties, Bhima super (V2) registered significantly highest seed germination (87.8 cm), shoot length (8.49 cm), root length (6.18 cm), and seedling vigour index I and II (1291 and 1116, respectively). Whereas, lowest seed germination (86.5 cm), shoot length (8.07 cm), root length (5.89 cm), and seedling vigour index I and II (1209 and 978, respectively) recorded in Bellary red (V1). Conclusion: The results of present investigation revealed that, bulbs planted during 1st fortnight of November and Bhima super were found to be superior for high quality seed production of onion.

Impact of Maleic Hydrazide Foliar Application on In situ Germination, Seed Yield and Seed Quality Parameters in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

In the 2023 kharif season, a field experiment was conducted at the All India Coordinated Research Project on Groundnut, Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka. The study aimed to investigate the impact of foliar application of maleic hydrazide on in situ germination, seed yield, and seed quality parameters in groundnut (cv. Dh 86). The findings indicated that foliar spray of maleic hydrazide @ 3000 ppm resulted in lower in situ germination (24.64%), higher yield attributes like pod yield per plant(9.35 g), kernel yield per plant (6.67 g), shelling percentage (71.47%), hundred seed weight(39.65 g) and sound mature kernel (96%) and lower seed quality parameters like germination (66%), root length (13.50 cm), shoot length (8.13 cm), mean seedling length(21.63 cm), seedling dry weight (332 mg) and seedling vigour index I &II (1428 & 21912) as compared to control. Indicating induction of dormancy through foliar spray of maleic hydrazide.

Optimization of Sargassum bovianum Extraction Techniques for Germination of Wheat, Canola, and Corn Under Different Salinity Stress

Seaweeds are a cheap, eco-friendly, and rich source of plant growth stimulators that can mitigate the adverse effects of salinity stress. This study examined the impact of Sargassum bovianum extracts obtained through different techniques using pressure, heat, and microwave radiations on the germination and growth of wheat, corn, and canola seeds under varying salinity levels (500, 3500, and 6500 µS cm−1). The findings showed that pressure, microwave, and acidic extraction methods were the most effective in extracting polysaccharides, alginate, and nutrients from S. bovianum. Seaweed extract significantly improved the mean germination time (MGT) and germination index (GI) of wheat under high salinity stress and had a positive effect on wheat plumule length (PL) and germination percentage (GP). However, seaweed extract had no significant impact on canola seeds in salinity stress, except for improved canola PL. The PL and seedling vigor index (SVI) of corn were enhanced in low salinity levels, but most treatments reduced PL and SVI in high salinity. This study suggests that using heat, pressure, and microwave techniques for seaweed extraction results in higher polysaccharides and alginate content, leading to improved germination and plant growth, particularly in wheat and canola. These findings can help growers optimize the germination and growth of these important crops.

Methods of Breaking Seed Dormancy for Four Species of Ornamental Cacti

The aim of this study was to investigate methods for breaking the seed dormancy of cacti that are cultivated in Thailand. To stimulate seed germination and decrease the production time for cacti, the research used four cacti species: Astrophytum asterias, Echinocactus grusonii, Myrtillocactus geometrizans, and Turbinicarpus alonsoi, which are extensively grown as ornamental cacti species in Thailand. The experimental design used in this study was a completely randomized design (CRD). The pot experiment consisted of 4 dormancy breaking methods and six replicates, 30 seeds per pot. For the control, seeds were sown onto planting media directly. In the experimental samples, seeds were subjected to different pre-soaking treatments: soaking for 24 h in room temperature water (28 2oC), GA3 500 ppm for 24 h, and H2SO4 (50%) for 30 min. The seed germination and plant growth data were collected after sowing cacti seeds for two months. The results showed that soaking cacti seeds in room temperature water produced the highest germination rates for A. asterias, E. grusonii, and M. geometrizans. In addition, this treatment also reduced the production time of M. geometrizans. Concurrently, A. asterias, E. grusonii, and M. geometrizans presented higher stem diameters and root lengths of the seedlings, as well as the best result on the seedling vigor of cacti. Soaking seeds with GA3 resulted in the highest germination percentage of T. alonsoi and accelerated seed germination of A. Asterias, and T. alonsoi. Moreover, this treatment led to the maximum root lengths and seedling vigor of T. alonsoi. However, soaking seeds with H2SO4 was a treatment that gave E. grusonii the maximum root length and seedling vigor.

Advancing Vegetable Grafting: A Comprehensive Review of Techniques, Challenges, and the Future of Automated Solutions

Vegetable grafting, a practice that combines two plant parts rootstock and scion into a single, superior plant, is an increasingly important technique in modern agriculture. By enhancing yields, stress resistance, and disease tolerance, grafting plays a crucial role in addressing challenges such as soil borne pathogens, extreme environmental conditions, and crop vulnerability to nematodes. Despite its benefits, vegetable grafting faces several challenges, including the need for compatible plant material, labour-intensive nursery production, high seed costs, and the potential for pathogen spread. Effective grafting requires meticulous selection of rootstock and scion, precise grafting techniques, and optimal post-grafting care to ensure survival and success. Looking toward the future, significant advancements in grafting technologies and nursery practices are required to overcome these challenges and improve efficiency. The development of grafting robots, capable of mechanizing the grafting process, holds promise for increasing productivity while reducing labor costs. Additionally, the establishment of specialized plug plantlet nurseries, equipped with advanced seeders, growth chambers, and acclimatization facilities, offers a pathway to enhance seedling vigour and uniformity in developing countries. Future research should also focus on refining seed-priming methods, improving seedling storage technologies, and exploring digital tools such as databases, crop models, and mobile applications to optimize grafting practices. These innovations could provide valuable insights for growers, helping them select the best rootstock-scion combinations and manage crops more efficiently. With continued research and technological advancements, vegetable grafting is poised to become a global solution, offering sustainable growth and productivity improvements in agriculture.

Association of Seedling Vigour and Salinity Tolerance in Field Pea

Association of Seedling Vigour and Salinity Tolerance in Field Pea

Impact of drought stress on seedling vigor and physio-biochemical attributes of diverse mungbean genotypes for drought tolerance through in vitro and field evaluation

Impact of drought stress on seedling vigor and physio-biochemical attributes of diverse mungbean genotypes for drought tolerance through in vitro and field evaluation

Genome Wide Association Analysis for Uniform Coleoptiles Emergence and Early Seedling Growth in Rice

Early seedling vigour (ESV) is a complex trait in rice. Detection of QTLs/genes controlling these traits can help us in enhancing the yield potential in rice varieties. Association mapping is a technique based on the principle of linkage disequilibrium that is used to find genes or quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying the complex traits. In this study of haplotype breeding 281 rice genotypes were taken. ANOVA analysis showed P- value for traits and genotypes was found significant. Similarly, P-value for interaction between the traits and genotypes was also found to be highly significant (1.8663*10-208). Further, mean germination data positively correlated with mean shoot length, mean leaf number, mean culm diameter, mean shoot dry weight, and mean shoot area of 21st day among the 281 genotypes. Among the 281 number of genotypes, 111 genotypes are found to be in PCA1 and 170 genotypes are found to be in PCA2 based on the phenotypic analysis. PCA1 component constituted 29.93% and PCA2 constituted the 13.68% of total variation in the analysis. Besides, whole genome phylogenetic analysis showed three major groups of which Group 1 consists of 215 genotypes, group 2 consists of 38 genotypes and group 3 consists of 28 genotypes respectively. Especially, both the subgroups II and III comprised of the unique genotypes from the indica and aus subpopulations of rice. In this analysis, 16 significant associations (LOD Score >7) for different traits were identified using the three different models (MLM, farmCPU, and blink) for GWAS studies Especially, one major QTL was identified for the mean coleoptiles’ emergence for 10 DAS on 11th chromosome (18983591) which explained 49% of the phenotypic variance. Additionally, another major QTL contributing to the shoot length variation of 29.75% was identified in the Chr02 (32954393) for shoot length trait on 28 DAS. A candidate gene namely Os02g0778400 UMP/CMP kinase A/adenylate kinase (LOC_Os02g53790) was located in the significant SNP region of the GWAS analysis. Further characterization of this gene would assist in elucidation of the mechanism regulating the early seedling length in rice under direct seeded rice.

Drought Stress Screening in Backcross Inbred Lines of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) at Germination and Seedling Stage

Drought is a key stress factor that limits rice production globally. The present study was carried out to identify drought tolerant rice lines at the germination and seedling stages using polyethylene glycol (PEG) induced stress. Twenty promising high yielding BC2F4 lines, stacked with drought yield QTLs qDTY₁⸳₁ and qDTY₁₂.₁, derived from the cross between Manu Ratna X Improved White Ponni, were subjected to drought stress. Drought was imposed during germination using three levels (0, 10 and 15%) of polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) concentrations. The experiment was conducted in factorial completely randomized block design with three replications and the observations on number of seeds germinated, root length, shoot length, germination index, germination stress tolerance index, fresh weight stress tolerance index, dry weight stress tolerance index and seedling vigour index were evaluated after stress treatment. A significant difference was noted among lines for characters under drought stress. Among the lines, MIB-29-2-3-1, MIB-29-8-5-35, MIB-43-5-3-66 and MIB-119-5-7-33 were selected which showed higher germination percentage, root length, shoot length, germination stress tolerance index and and seeding vigour index. The selected lines can be further evaluated in the field to develop drought tolerant rice varieties.

Agronomic adaptations to heat stress: Sowing summer crops earlier

CONTEXTSummer crops are exposed to heat and drought stresses at critical stages during and after flowering, and their intensity and frequency are likely to increase with climate change. Agronomic stress avoidance offers the opportunity to temporally separate critical crop stages from heat and drought events. However, it might require sowing cold-sensitive summer crops earlier into colder than recommended soil temperatures. There is a need to understand how cold is too cold to sow summer crops early in late winter as well as what are the yield benefits and risks. OBJECTIVEHere, we quantify the likely benefits and trade-offs of sowing sorghum, a summer cereal, earlier to adapt to the increased frequency and intensity of heat and water stresses during flowering and grain filling. METHODSTwo years of multi-environment (n=32) genotype by management trials were conducted across the main sorghum growing regions of Australia. Environments (E) consisted of the combination of years, sites, three times of sowing (early, spring, and summer), and the use of supplementary irrigation. At each E a factorial combination of four plant populations (M) and eight commercial sorghum hybrids (G) were sown with three replications. Crop growth and yield components were measured, and the APSIM model was used to simulate all trials and treatments to quantify risks and derive insights into functional relationships between simulated and measured environmental covariates, and measured crop traits. RESULTSThe tested hybrids showed small differences in cold tolerance during crop establishment. Across the tested environments, the G×M combinations produced up to 60% variation in treatment yields across environment yields, which varied between <0.5 to about 10t ha-1; this translated into a ~5.5-fold variation in water use efficiency. Significant G×E and M×E interactions were observed for grain yield components. No G×M or G×E×M interactions were observed on yield or yield components. Early sowing was associated with a reduced risk of heat stress and water use transfer from vegetative to reproductive stages. Early sowing in late winter or early spring resulted in no significant yield gain or loss when all sites and years were included in the analysis. However, early sowing yielded between 1-2 t ha-1 more when the hottest sites and years were considered separately. This resulted from both the avoidance of heat stresses and milder or no terminal drought stresses. CONCLUSIONSEarly sowing of sorghum can reduce the likelihood of heat stresses around flowering as well as the likelihood of terminal drought stresses. Advantages include reduced yield losses in the hottest years and a transfer of water use to grain filling stages, resulting in increased grain yield and improved grain quality parameters. IMPLICATIONSEarly sowing, an agronomic adaptation, offers the opportunity to quickly adapt to the increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme hot events during critical crop stages. However, for the practice to be de-risked, there is a need to increase cold and chilling tolerance in sorghum and/or identify interventions that enhance seed germination and seedling vigour when the crop is sown early into cold soils.

Unveiling Bacillus rugosus CRI: A multi-stress tolerant endophyte revolutionizing rice resilience

The application of endophytes to mitigate stress in plants, particularly drought and salinity stress, has gained considerable attention, yet their role in rice remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the isolation and characterization of multi-stress-tolerant endophytic isolates with multiple plant growth-promoting attributes, including biocontrol potential against plant pathogens, from surface-sterilized leaf, stem, and root samples of various rice cultivars in Kerala. A total of 20 bacterial endophytes were isolated from rice plants and assessed for their plant growth-promoting (PGP) capabilities, biocontrol potential, and resilience to drought and salinity stress. Of these, 7 endophytic isolates exhibited notable PGP traits, and 3 demonstrated antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium oxysporum. Notably, only 3 endophytic isolates showed significant tolerance to drought conditions (−1.0 MPa) and salinity (150 mM), alongside strong growth-promoting abilities. The selected isolates significantly increased seed germination and seedling vigour (p ≤ 0.05), highlighting their effectiveness. Among these, the isolate CRI, identified as Bacillus rugosus through morphological, biochemical, and molecular (16S rRNA) analysis, stood out for its remarkable performance. Under stress conditions, rice seedlings treated with the multi-stress-tolerant CRI showed significant improved biomass, resilience, and enhanced biochemical processes, including better photosynthetic pigment levels and maintained membrane integrity. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) confirmed the presence of these bacteria within the rice roots, underscoring their potential as a novel approach for enhancing stress tolerance and promoting rice growth. This study represents the first discovery of Bacillus rugosus as a potent multi-stress-tolerant endophyte, with dual benefits of promoting plant growth and exhibiting biocontrol activity. These findings pave the way for innovative strategies aimed at enhancing crop resilience and productivity, particularly in the face of increasing abiotic stressors in agricultural systems.

Enumeration of Genetic Variability Parameters and Association among Early Seedling Growth Parameters under Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) induced Osmotic Stress in rabi Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (l.) Moench)

Aims: The research aims to explore the variability within diverse rabi sorghum germplasms and identify the relationships among different early seedling growth traits. This will provide valuable insights for future breeding programs, aiding in the development of resilient sorghum varieties that can contribute to improved food security and agricultural sustainability. Study Design: The study was conducted by employing factorial complete randomized design (FCRD) with two replications. Where, two factors was considered, genotype as first factor and PEG concentration as second. Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2023 at University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad, Karnataka. Methodology: A total of 156 germplasm lines of rabi sorghum were assessed in vitro for early seedling growth characteristics, including germination percentage, shoot length, root length, seedling dry weight, and seedling vigor indices I and II, under both control and osmotic stress conditions induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG). Osmotic stress was induced by dissolving PEG 6000 in distilled water to achieve the desired concentration. The germplasm lines were then subjected to germination and early growth under these conditions using the paper towel method. The genetic variability parameters for each trait were quantified to examine the degree of variability in the material used, and correlation analysis was performed to understand the relationships among the traits studied. Results: The variance analysis showed highly significant differences among genotypes, treatments, and the genotype-by-environment (G×E) interactions. Genetic variability parameters revealed considerable variability across all traits studied, which tended to increase with higher stress levels. Moderate to high GCV and PCV was observed for all the traits studied. Correlation analysis demonstrated a strong, significant positive relationship among all seedling parameters, except between root length and shoot length, as well as between shoot length and germination percentage under control conditions. Conclusion: The study emphasizes the effect of osmotic stress on the early vigor and growth of sorghum seedlings. The findings reveal significant variability in seedling traits, suggesting that selection can be employed for genetic enhancement of these traits. Correlation analysis identified specific traits or combinations of traits that should be considered when selecting genotypes tolerant to osmotic stress conditions. These findings offer great potential to guide and improve selection and breeding programs focused on enhancing drought tolerant sorghum varieties.

Study of the efficacy of five growing media for nursery production of an endangered species, Afzelia africana Smith ex Pers in Côte d'Ivoire

Afzelia africana Smith ex Pers is an endangered plant species listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The low level of natural regeneration of this species requires it to be reproduced in a controlled environment in order to reconstitute its population by providing good quality seedlings. As the growing medium is an important factor in the quality of the seedlings, the influence of the substrates soil + wood chip compost, soil + poultry droppings, soil + rice straw compost, soil + cocoa pod husk compost and soil on the germination and growth of Afzelia africana in the nursery was evaluated through a completely randomised design. The soil + wood chips compost performed best, with a high germination rate (76.7%). It enabled the production of taller seedlings (15.6 cm; p = 0.004), with larger collar diameters (4.4 mm; p = 0.001), higher total dry matter (2.25 g.plant-1; p = 0.005) and higher root dry matter (2.25 g.plant-1; p = 0.005). The mixture of three parts soil + one part poultry droppings was toxic for the seedlings, resulting in 60.6% mortality. The use of growing media containing a mixture of soil and wood chips compost is effective for the production of vigorous seedlings. This compost can be recommended for nursery production of Afzelia africana.

Study of the effect of five growing media used for the nursery production of Bombax costatum Pellegr. et Vuillet: A multipurpose tree in Côte d'Ivoire

Bombax costatum Pellegr. et Vuillet is a species frequently recommended for reforestation in West Africa. Mass production of vigorous seedlings of this species in nurseries is necessary for the reconstitution of colonies. The effect of five growing media on the growth parameters and dry matter production of Bombax costatum was studied in a completely randomised design. The Soil substrate was compared with a mixture of three (3) portions of Soil + one (1) portion of organic matter based on poultry droppings, rice straw compost, cocoa pod husks compost and wood chips compost, respectively. The growing media enriched with organic matter had pH values close to neutral and high levels of organic matter and nitrogen. The Soil + Poultry droppings substrate favored the production of plants with the highest values of stem height (87.84 cm; p ≤ 0.042), collar diameter (13.72 mm; p ≤ 0.004), number of leaves (19.34; p ≤ 0.025) and total dry matter (20 g.plant-1; p ≤ 0.036). Since the quality of transplant affects plant establishment and initial growth, the substrate Soil + Poultry droppings must be recommended for the nursery production of Bombax costatum, followed by the substrates Soil + Rice straw and Soil + Cocoa pod husks compost.

Impacts of black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, larval frass on the emergence and seedling vigor of three vegetable crop species

Abstract The waste material from rearing black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), larvae (BSFL), frass, could serve as a partial replacement for fertilizer or growing media, such as peat. Studies have shown that depending on the crop life cycle, long or short, the incorporation of frass can have positive impacts on vegetable growth. Investigating the earlier stages of growth, such as emergence, can provide more information on the acute impacts of insect frass on plant production. Two greenhouse studies were designed to investigate the use of frass in vegetable production at the seedling stage: BSFL frass as a partial replacement for peat in a growth germination medium and BSFL frass as a fertility replacement in a growth germination medium. Tomato, lettuce, and arugula seeds were grown in a standard control growing media, a growing media amended with frass to partially replace peat, and a growing media with frass applications to substitute the fertility source. In all treatments and varieties, the control growing media produced better or comparable results to the treatments. As a peat replacement, the two tomato varieties, lettuce, and arugula seedlings grown in frass had comparable seedling vigour and days to emergence to those grown in the control. As a fertility replacement, seedlings grown in frass had significantly lower percent emergence in all four cultivars when compared to the control. The tomato varieties also had significantly lower seedling vigour in the BSFL fertility treatments than the control. Depending on crop and growing media composition, the impacts of frass on early plant development vary. The adoption of frass into growing practices should include preliminary tests for nutrient composition and microbial contamination.

Evaluation of Field Performance of Groundnut Varieties through Different Vigour Tests

A field experiment was carried out to evaluate the field performance of groundnut varieties through different vigour tests during Rabi, 2023-24 at S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupati, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh. The experimental material consisted of 10 groundnut varieties Narayani, Dharani, Dheeraj, TCGS-1694, Nithya Haritha, Kadiri-9, Kadiri-6, Kadiri Amaravathi, Kadiri-1812 and TAG-24 collected from different sources. In the preliminary experiment seed multiplication was done and the multiplied seed was used for conducting six vigour tests namely Germination test, speed of germination test, Seedling vigour index-Ⅰ, Seedling vigour index-Ⅱ, Accelerated ageing test, Electrical conductivity test in the laboratory using Completely Randomised Design with four replications. The multiplied seed was used for evaluating field performance using Randomised block design with three replications. Significant differences were found among the varieties based on vigour levels. Results with respect to field experiment showed that growth parameters i.e. field emergence percentage, days to 50 % flowering, days to maturity, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, pod yield per plant, kernel yield per plant, pod yield per plot, plant height, shelling percentage, 100 seed weight and harvest index varied significantly among different varieties based on different vigour levels. Varieties with higher vigour had shown higher field emergence percentage. Among the ten varieties Kadiri-6 had shown highest field emergence percentage. Significant correlation was observed among laboratory and field experiments. Vigorous varieties were able to perform better in terms of some of the field parameters and among all the vigour tests performed speed of germination test had high correlation with field emergence.

Effect of Green Synthesized Silver and Zinc Nanoparticles on Seed Quality OF Maize

Nanotechnology is an emerging science and has wide applications in agriculture. Green synthesized nanoparticles are safer, cost effective and eco-friendly over chemical and physical synthesis. The laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of green-synthesized silver and zinc nanoparticles on seed quality of maize hybrid (GH-150125) during 2023-24 at the Department of Seed Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. Green synthesis of silver and zinc nanoparticles were mediated through neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf extract is as reducing and capping agent. The standardization for effective concentration and priming duration for silver and zinc nanoparticles were standardized from different concentrations of (250 ppm, 500 ppm, 750 ppm and 1000 ppm). For priming effective duration were standardized from six, eight and twelve hours inclusive of hydropriming and control (untreated). The effective concentrations of 250-750 ppm and duration of 8 h and 6 h from AgNPs and ZnNPs recorded higher respectively as compared to control and hydropriming. In laboratory, the seed treated with zinc nanoparticles at 750 ppm for 6 h recorded significantly higher germination percentage of (97 %), shoot length (21.53 cm), root length (20.17cm) and seedling vigour index I (4045) compared to control. Hence, the results conclude that ZnNPs at 750 ppm for 6 hours was superior as seed treatment in maize to enhance seed germination and seedling growth than other treatments.

Identification of Candidate Genes for Soybean Storability via GWAS and WGCNA Approaches

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is an important crop for both food and feed, playing a significant role in agricultural production and the human diet. During long-term storage, soybean seeds often exhibit reduced quality, decreased germination, and lower seedling vigor, ultimately leading to significant yield reductions in soybean crops. Seed storage tolerance is a complex quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes and is also influenced by environmental factors during seed formation, harvest, and storage. This study aimed to evaluate soybean germplasms for their storage tolerance, identify quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) associated with seed storage tolerance traits, and screen for candidate genes. The storage tolerance of 168 soybean germplasms was evaluated, and 23,156 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were screened and analyzed through a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Ultimately, 14 QTNs were identified as being associated with seed storage tolerance and were distributed across the eight chromosomes of soybean, with five QTNs (rs25887810, rs27941858, rs33981296, rs44713950, and rs18610980) being newly reported loci in this study. In the linkage disequilibrium regions of these SNPs, 256 genes were identified. By combining GWAS and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), eight hub genes (Glyma.03G058300, Glyma.04G1921100, Glyma.04G192600, Glyma.04G192900, Glyma.07G002000, Glyma.08G329400, Glyma.16G074600, Glyma.16G091400) were jointly identified. Through the analysis of expression patterns, two candidate genes (Glyma.03G058300, Glyma.16G074600) potentially involved in seed storage tolerance were ultimately identified. Additionally, haplotype analysis revealed that natural variations in Glyma.03G058300 could affect seed storage tolerance. The findings of this research provide a theoretical foundation for understanding the regulatory mechanism underlying soybean storage.

Improving the Germination Performance of Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata Wall. ex Nees) through Hydropriming, Halo-Priming and Osmopriming Under Salinity Condition

Salinity is a significant global issue that adversely affects seed germination and seedling vigour across a wide range of crops. Priming, however, is considered a basic method to enhance seed performance (germination and vigour) under saline conditions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of different priming treatments on seedlings under varying salinity levels (0, 4, 6, 8, and 10 dS m⁻¹) in Kalmegh, a traditionally valuable medicinal plant. Seeds were primed through four methods viz., T0- Non-primed (control), T1- Hydro primed (distilled water), T2- halo priming with NaCl (0.8%), T3- halo priming with CaCl2 (0.8%) and T4- osmo priming with KNO3 (1%) for 6 hours at 25ºC in the dark. This experiment was arranged in a factorial design based on a CRD (Completely Randomized Design) with three replications. The results demonstrated that priming treatments significantly improved germination percentage, seedling length (cm), seedling fresh weight (mg), seedling dry weight (mg), and vigour indices. Notably, seeds primed with KNO3 showed the highest germination performance at all salinity levels. Even at the highest salinity level, they achieved a germination percentage of 94% and a Seedling Vigour Index I of 506, compared to the control group, which exhibited a germination percentage of 88% and a Seedling Vigour Index I of 298. KNO3 priming at 0 dS/m produced the highest seedling length (8.5 cm), root length (2.7 cm), shoot length (6.4 cm), fresh weight (26.32 mg), and dry weight (10.3 mg).