Seed Treatment Research Articles

Chemical treatments in maize seeds to improve germination in acidic soils

Objective: To evaluate the effect of different germination promoters on three maize genotypes grown in Dystric Cambisol soils, since germination problems are linked to latency and restrict agronomic management.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: We conducted an experiment at the Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Juan Rodríguez Clara using a split-plot design with a factorial treatment arrangement. The large plot contained genotypes (GEN) G1 = MS-405, G2 = Arlequin, and G3 = MS-404; while the small one comprised promoter (PROMO) HS = humic substance, CI = citrulline, and SA = salicylic acid. We evaluated the following variables: germination speed (GS), emergence percentage (EMERG), stem and leaf volume (S&LV), root volume (RV), chlorophyll (CHL), secondary roots (SECR), stem diameter (DMT), number of leaves (NL), foliar area (FA), root length (RL), and plant height (PH). Then, we conducted a variance analysis and Tukey’s tests (α£0.05).
 Results: For each promoter, we observed main effects in EMERG, CHL, and PH for CI; S&LV, NL, FA, and PH for HS; and RL for SA. In genotypes G2 and G3, variables GS, EMERG, NL, and PH were statistically equivalent, DMT varied only in G2, and there were no statistical differences for S&LV, RV, CHL, SECR, FA, and RL. We observed some simple effects in combinations with CI: GS and PH varied in G3, EMERG in G2 and G3, CHL in G1 and G3, DMT in G1 and G2, and S&LV in G2.
 Study limitations/Implications: Soaking corn for one hour in the solution and weighing the correct amount properly are required, since weighing too much may inhibit germination.
 Findings/Conclusions: Promoter CI at a dose of 1,000 ppm accelerates the emergence speed of genotypes G2 and G3 in acidic soils.

Combatting Sugar Beet Root Rot: Streptomyces Strains' Efficacy against Fusarium oxysporum.

Sugar beet root rot disease triggered by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-betae is a destructive disease and dramatically affects the production and quality of the sugar beet industry. Employing beneficial microorganisms as a biocontrol strategy represents an eco-friendly and sustainable approach to combat various plant diseases. The distinct aspect of this study was to assess the antifungal and plant growth-promoting capabilities of recently isolated Streptomyces to treat sugar beet plants against infection with the phytopathogen F. oxysporum. Thirty-seven actinobacterial isolates were recovered from the rhizosphere of healthy sugar beet plants and screened for their potential to antagonize F. oxysporum in vitro. Two isolates SB3-15 and SB2-23 that displayed higher antagonistic effects were morphologically and molecularly identified as Streptomyces spp. Seed treatment with the fermentation broth of the selected Streptomyces strains SB3-15 and SB2-23 significantly reduced disease severity compared to the infected control in a greenhouse experiment. Streptomyces SB2-23 exhibited the highest protective activity with high efficacy ranging from 91.06 to 94.77% compared to chemical fungicide (86.44 to 92.36%). Furthermore, strain SB2-23 significantly increased plant weight, root weight, root length, and diameter. Likewise, it improves sucrose percentage and juice purity. As a consequence, the strain SB2-23's intriguing biocontrol capability and sugar beet root growth stimulation present promising prospects for its utilization in both plant protection and enhancement strategies.

Enhancement the Quality and Productivity of Canola (Brassica napus L.) Using Some Bio Stimulant Applications under Saline Soil Conditions

Salinity is one of the most serious and significant challenges facing the agricultural sector. It directly damages soil irrecoverably and negatively affects the quality and productivity of many crops. Priming is a process of seeds treatment with a rapid soaking with drying the seeds before setting, using for regulating the germination process by managing and regulating the temperature and seed moisture content. Priming involves advancing the seed to enable fast and uniform emergence. Once, field’s condition (temperature and moisture) is appropriate, germination occurs in a much shorter time. Several benefits to seed priming, and they include: faster speed of emergence, enables seed to germinate and emerge even under adverse agro-climatic conditions, improves uniformity to optimize harvesting efficiency, increases vigor for fast and strong plant development and increases yield potential. Hence, how to use priming is still a challenge that remains to be solved. This experiment was carried out in two winter seasons 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 at Tag El-Ezz Research Station ARC in Egypt, using canola (Brassica napus L.) var. Serw 4 with adding two potassium humate treatments (zero as control and 2 kg.fed-1) as main plots, two selenium applying methods (priming and foliar) as sub main plot and four rates of selenium application (zero as control, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 ppm) as sub sub-plots and their interactions on canola plant growth, yield and yield components. Some chemical composition and oil percentages in canola seeds were analyzed. After harvest, soil's available N, P and K were determined. Results could be summarized as follow: Humate applied at 2 kg. fed-1 increased chlorophyl (a+b) by 3.84%, yield by 8.65% and oil content by 1.76% comparing with the control. Humate application alleviates adverse effect of salinity stress and maximize oil yield comparing with without humate application. Priming is more effective than foliar application. Selenium application at 1.5 ppm is the superior rate followed by 3.0 ppm, control and 4.5 ppm at the least. The interactions between humate and Canola seed priming in 1.5 ppm selenium mitigate the harmful effect of soil salinity on Canola and increased yield, productivity and quality.

Integrative Analysis of Oleosin Genes Provides Insights into Lineage-Specific Family Evolution in Brassicales.

Oleosins (OLEs) are a class of small but abundant structural proteins that play essential roles in the formation and stabilization of lipid droplets (LDs) in seeds of oil crops. Despite the proposal of five oleosin clades (i.e., U, SL, SH, T, and M) in angiosperms, their evolution in eudicots has not been well-established. In this study, we employed Brassicales, an economically important order of flowering plants possessing the lineage-specific T clade, as an example to address this issue. Three to 10 members were identified from 10 species representing eight plant families, which include Caricaceae, Moringaceae, Akaniaceae, Capparaceae, and Cleomaceae. Evolutionary and reciprocal best hit-based homologous analyses assigned 98 oleosin genes into six clades (i.e., U, SL, SH, M, N, and T) and nine orthogroups (i.e., U1, U2, SL, SH1, SH2, SH3, M, N, and T). The newly identified N clade represents an ancient group that has already appeared in the basal angiosperm Amborella trichopoda, which are constitutively expressed in the tree fruit crop Carica papaya, including pulp and seeds of the fruit. Moreover, similar to Clade N, the previously defined M clade is actually not Lauraceae-specific but an ancient and widely distributed group that diverged before the radiation of angiosperm. Compared with A. trichopoda, lineage-specific expansion of the family in Brassicales was largely contributed by recent whole-genome duplications (WGDs) as well as the ancient γ event shared by all core eudicots. In contrast to the flower-preferential expression of Clade T, transcript profiling revealed an apparent seed/embryo/endosperm-predominant expression pattern of most oleosin genes in Arabidopsis thaliana and C. papaya. Moreover, the structure and expression divergence of paralogous pairs was frequently observed, and a good example is the lineage-specific gain of an intron. These findings provide insights into lineage-specific family evolution in Brassicales, which facilitates further functional studies in nonmodel plants such as C. papaya.

Development of a Seed Treatment with Pochonia chlamydosporia for Biocontrol Application

Seed treatment is a powerful technique for adding beneficial ingredients to plants during the seed preparation process. Biopolymers as drying agents and delivery systems in seed treatments were investigated for their biocompatibility with blastospores of the nematophagous fungus Pochonia chlamydosporia. To produce a novel seed treatment for the cover crop Phacelia tanacetifolia, xanthan gum TG and gellan gum were the most promising biopolymers in combination with potato starch and bentonite. The seed treatment process as well as the drying process were specially designed to be scalable, which make it suitable for applying the developed seed treatment in agriculture. Application of gellan gum in seed treatments led to 6.3% ± 1.6% of vital blastospores per seed compared to 3.8% ± 0.3% of vital blastospores when applying xanthan gum. Storage tests for seed treatments with 0.5% gellan gum indicated a higher stability at 4 °C compared to storage at 21 °C. After 42 days of storage at 4 °C, 54.1% ± 15.1% of the applied blastospores were viable compared to 0.3% ± 0.8% at 21 °C. This novel seed treatment application with P. chlamydosporia blastospores includes the seed treatment procedure, drying process, and storage tests and can easily be upscaled for application in agriculture.

Effects of paclobutrazol seed priming on seedling quality, photosynthesis, and physiological characteristics of fragrant rice

BackgroundPaclobutrazol is widely used in the agricultural field. This study investigated the effects of seed priming with different concentrations of paclobutrazol on seedling quality, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP, a key aroma component of fragrant rice) biosynthesis, and related physiological and biochemical indicators in fragrant rice seedlings.ResultsThe experiment is being conducted at the College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University. In the experiment, three concentrations of paclobutrazol (Pac 1: 20 mg·L−1; Pac 2: 40 mg·L−1; Pac 3: 80 mg·L−1) were used to initiate the treatment of fragrant rice seeds, while water treatment was used as a control (CK). The results showed that compared with CK, paclobutrazol treatment reduced plant height, increased stem diameter, and increased fresh and dry weight of aromatic rice seedlings. Moreover, paclobutrazol treatment also increased the seedlings’ photosynthetic pigment content and net photosynthetic rate.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that paclobutrazol primarily increases the content of proline by reducing the content of glutamate and down-regulating the expression of P5CS2, thereby promoting the conversion of proline to the aromatic substance 2-AP. Under the appropriate concentration of paclobutrazol (40 mg·L−1~80 mg·L−1), the seedling quality, stress resistance, and aroma of fragrant rice can be improved.

Effect of bioecogum bioorganic fertilizer on the development of maize and soya bean in light chestnut soils

The article discusses the use of domestic liquid bio-organic fertilizer "BioEcoGum" in the cultivation of corn and soybeans in the south-east of Kazakhstan. The influence of seed treatment and foliar top dressing during the growing season on the growth, development and yield of corn (Porumben 458) and soybeans (Zhansaya, Victory) was studied. Pre-sowing treatment of corn and soybean seeds with a solution of liquid bioorganic fertilizer increases germination by 10-15 %. Two and three-fold foliar top dressing of corn and soybean plants enhances growth and development, increases the yield of soybean grain by 25-33 % and corn by 75 %, contributes to an increase in root biomass by 50 %, increases the economic efficiency of application. According to the results of production tests, the bio-organic liquid fertilizer "BioEcoGum" is recommended for widespread introduction in the south and south-east of Kazakhstan in the cultivation of grain and leguminous crops.

Mitigation of rice blast disease by using biocontrol agents and new molecular fungicides

Rice blast is one of the most devastating diseases which is caused by Pyricularia grisea. The disease infects the all growth stages of rice crop and causes severe yield loss. Biocontrol agents and new molecular fungicides were tested against blast disease of rice. Among the nine treatments tested, Seed treatment with Bacillus subtilis + Foliar spray of Tebuconazole 50% + Trifloxystrobin 25% WG @ 1g/l (T7) recorded the maximum (67.88 %) reduction of the blast disease followed by Seed treatment with Bacillus subtilis @10g/kg + Foliar spray of Picoxystrobin 6.78% + Tricyclazole 20.33% SC @1ml/l (T8) which recorded 58.67 % reduction of the blast disease. Combined application of biocontrol agents having ability to reduce rice blast disease and increase the yield significantly.

Tryptophan Seed Treatment Improves Morphological, Biochemical, and Photosynthetic Attributes of the Sunflower under Cadmium Stress.

Tryptophan, as a signal molecule, mediates many biotic and environmental stress-induced physiological responses in plants. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of tryptophan seed treatment in response to cadmium stress (0, 0.15, and 0.25 mM) in sunflower plants. Different growth and biochemical parameters were determined to compare the efficiency of the treatment agent. The results showed that cadmium stress reduced the growth attributes, including root and shoot length, dry and fresh weight, rate of seed germination, and the number of leaves. Cadmium stress also significantly reduced the contents of chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll, carotenoid contents, phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanin, and ascorbic acid. Whereas cadmium stress (0.15 and 0.25 mM) enhanced the concentrations of malondialdehyde (45.24% and 53.06%), hydrogen peroxide (-11.07% and 5.86%), and soluble sugars (28.05% and 50.34%) compared to the control. Tryptophan treatment decreased the effect of Cd stress by minimizing lipid peroxidation. Seed treatment with tryptophan under cadmium stress improved the root (19.40%) and shoot length (38.14%), root (41.90%) and shoot fresh weight (13.58%), seed germination ability (13.79%), average leaf area (24.07%), chlorophyll b (51.35%), total chlorophyll (20.04%), carotenoids (43.37%), total phenolic (1.47%), flavonoids (19.02%), anthocyanin (26.57%), ascorbic acid (4%), and total soluble proteins (12.32%) compared with control conditions. Overall, the tryptophan seed treatment showed positive effects on sunflower plants' growth and stress tolerance, highlighting its potential as a sustainable approach to improve crop performance.

Unravelling The Diversity of Cherry Tomato (<i>Solanum Lycopersicum</i> Var. <i>Cerasiforme</i>) Seed Microbes and Their Effect on Seed Health

Healthy seeds are the foundation of healthy plants. Planting healthy seeds contributes to securing crop productivity and seed germplasm conservation. In this study, we have identified microbes associated with seeds of three cherry tomato genotypes and demonstrated their negative effect on general seed health. Through a combined morpho-cultural and molecular characterisation (using multi-loci analysis of the ITS, β-tubulin, tef1α, and gapdh gene regions for fungi and 16s rDNA for bacteria), we have identified three fungi (Nigrospora sphaerica, N. lacticolonia, and Curvularia aeria), and two bacteria (Citrobacter freundii, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia) from healthy-looking tomato seeds. These fungi and bacteria, through seed-soaked-inoculation, caused seed discoloration, lesions, and low germination. To our knowledge, these are the first reports of Nigrospora sphaerica, N. lacticolonia, Curvularia aeria, Citrobacter freundii, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia on tomato seeds and demonstrated their negative impact on seed health. Seed treatment and interventions are needed to negate the possible effect of these microbes. Future studies on possible seed transmission are warranted.

Cold plasma treatment boosts barley germination and seedling vigor: Insights into soluble sugar, starch, and protein modifications

This study investigates the impact of three cold plasma treatments on barley seed germination: direct treatment of dry seeds (DDS), direct treatment of water-soaked seeds (DWS), and indirect treatment of seeds using plasma-activated water (IPAW). Our findings reveal that while DDS maintained the seed's imbibition structures, DWS significantly reduced water uptake. Notably, DWS-treated seeds exhibited a substantial increase in moisture content, potentially leading to an oxygen-deficient environment within the seed. This condition appeared to hinder germination, contrasting with the beneficial effects observed in DDS-treated seeds. Analyses of surface hydrophilicity, phenolic compounds, carbohydrate composition, protein storage and seedling growth were conducted. Interestingly, cold plasma treatment enhanced seed surface hydrophilicity, as evidenced by a decrease in water contact angles, particularly for DWS. We observed specific reductions in flavonoids and total phenolics, alongside shifts in carbohydrate composition, including increased sugar content up to 15.1% (DDS) and 13.5% (DWS), accompanied by a decrease in starch content to 189.00 ± 7.86 mg/g FM for DWS. Protein storage assessments revealed declines in albumin, globulin and prolamin fractions post-CP exposure. Finally, DDS and IPAW treatments markedly improved seedling shoot growth (from two to three-fold), underscoring the potential of these treatments in enhancing barley germination.

Effectiveness of a preparation based on animal effects on winter and spring wheat

The results of testing a drug obtained from livestock waste containing fulvic acids on winter and spring wheat are presented. The prescription was obtained by treating an aqueous infusion of chicken manure and pig waste with 60% nitric acid. Before use, the drug was diluted with water in a ratio of 1:100. The working solution had a pH of 6.7–6.9. The specified pH value of the working solution prevents the possible adverse effect of the drug on other agrochemicals when using tank mixtures. Pre-sowing treatment of winter wheat seeds with the resulting preparation, at a consumption rate of 0.1 l/t, increased the area of flag leaves, which had a significant positive effect on yield, by 1.8 times compared with the control. The biomass of plants treated with the drug was 1.3 times greater than in the control. Pre-sowing treatment of seeds with the medication at a consumption rate of 0.1 l/t led to an increase in the yield of winter wheat in the conditions of the Belgorod region by 0.44 t/ha, or by 6.8 %, as well as the content of gluten protein in grain by 2.0 % and reduced infection of seeds with Alternaria. Spraying spring wheat during the stem growth phase (two nodes) increased the yield by 0.73 t/ha or 20.8 %. The use of the drug for pre-sowing seed treatment significantly reduced the sensitivity of spring wheat plants to herbicide stress. The increase in yield under the influence of the medicine was achieved by increasing the number of ears by 11.2 % and by increasing the number of grains in an ear by 8.3 %.

The dependence of yield and its structure on pre-sowing treatment of spring triticale (<i>× triticosecale</i>) seeds in the Amur region

The research results (2014 - 2015) on triticale yield and its structure depending on the seed treatment are presented. The need for research is caused by increasing grain yields and gross yields in the region. This work aims to establish the dependence of yield and its structure on the pre-sowing treatment of triticale seeds by modern fungicides that are effective in extreme conditions. A two-factor field experiment was conducted on the experimental field of the Far Eastern State Agrarian University, Amur region. Options: Factor A - triticale varieties: 1. Ukro, St; 2. Yarilo; 3. Carmen. Factor B - treatment with preparations: 1. Control - water; 2. Maxim rate - 1.5 ml/l; 3. Inshur Perform - 0.4 l/ha; 4. Kinto Duo - 2 l/ha. Each variety of triticale corresponded to fourvariants of treatment with preparations. Regarding height, productive business and ear length of triticale, the differences between the preparations and the control were insignificant. The preparation of Kinto Duo increased the number of grains in the ear by 2.0 % compared with the control. Maxim and Inshur Perform by weight of 1000 grains resulted in a significant increase of 2.8 and 3.9 %, and Kinto Duo - 7.2 % compared to the control. Yield is strongly related to productive business, r = 0.798. The correlation between yield and stem length is medium r = 0.332. Between yield, ear length, number of grains in the ear, and weight of 1000 grains, the correlation dependence is weak r < 0.3. The preparation Inshur Perform increased the yield of triticale grain by 0.11 t/ha or 4.9 %, Maxim - by 0.30 t/ha or 13.4 %, and Kinto Duo - by 0.34 or 15.2 % relative to the control.

Influence of the endophytic fungus <i>Metarhizium robertsii</i> on the growth and development of forage beans siberian varieties

The results of studying the influence of the endophytic fungus Metarhizium robertsii on the growth and development of fodder beans of the Sibirskie variety are presented. Endophytes are ubiquitous, diverse microorganisms that live in healthy host tissues without causing visible disease symptoms. The studies were conducted in 2020–2022. Pre-sowing treatment of broad bean seeds (Vicia faba L.) with the entomopathogenic fungus M. robertsii, followed by cultivation in field conditions, contributed to the acceleration of growth processes, the formation of greater biological mass and increased yield. The effectiveness of the entomopathogenic fungus M. robertsii was assessed in a field experiment on leached chernozem in the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia. M. robertsii on broad beans significantly increased grain yield by 10–15 % depending on year conditions in 2020 and 2022. (Mann-Whitney test, p = 0.036715 and 0.012186, respectively), plant height - by 6–16 cm (Mann-Whitney test, p = 0.010023), foliage, and weight of 1000 grains. A significant increase in active nodules on the roots of broad bean plants treated with M. robertsii was established. The results indicate that treating bean seeds with the entomopathogenic fungus M. robertsii before sowing can increase crop yield and stimulate growth processes. In the future, this technique can be used in agricultural practice on other legumes. This work is the first study of the influence of entomopathogenic fungi on broad beans when grown in the continental climate of Western Siberia.

Growth and transcriptional response of wheat and rice to the tertiary amine BMVE.

Seed vigor is largely a product of sound seed development, maturation processes, genetics, and storage conditions. It is a crucial factor impacting plant growth and crop yield and is negatively affected by unfavorable environmental conditions, which can include drought and heat as well as cold wet conditions. The latter leads to slow germination and increased seedling susceptibility to pathogens. Prior research has shown that a class of plant growth regulators called substituted tertiary amines (STAs) can enhance seed germination, seedling growth, and crop productivity. However, inconsistent benefits have limited STA adoption on a commercial scale. We developed a novel seed treatment protocol to evaluate the efficacy of 2-(N-methyl benzyl aminoethyl)-3-methyl butanoate (BMVE), which has shown promise as a crop seed treatment in field trials. Transcriptomic analysis of rice seedlings 24 h after BMVE treatment was done to identify the molecular basis for the improved seedling growth. The impact of BMVE on seed development was also evaluated by spraying rice panicles shortly after flower fertilization and subsequently monitoring the impact on seed traits. BMVE treatment of seeds 24 h after imbibition consistently improved wheat and rice seedling shoot and root growth in lab conditions. Treated wheat seedlings grown to maturity in a greenhouse also resulted in higher biomass than controls, though only under drought conditions. Treated seedlings had increased levels of transcripts involved in reactive oxygen species scavenging and auxin and gibberellic acid signaling. Conversely, several genes associated with increased reactive oxygen species/ROS load, abiotic stress responses, and germination hindering processes were reduced. BMVE spray increased both fresh and mature seed weights relative to the control for plants exposed to 96 h of heat stress. BMVE treatment during seed development also benefited germination and seedling growth in the next generation, under both ambient and heat stress conditions. The optimized experimental conditions we developed provide convincing evidence that BMVE does indeed have efficacy in plant growth enhancement. The results advance our understanding of how STAs work at the molecular level and provide insights for their practical application to improve crop growth.

Perendaman Benih Melon Dengan PGPR Pseudomonas sp. dan Bacillus sp. di Dusun Ngadilegi Utara, Kecamatan Pandaan, Kabupaten Pasuruan

Ngadilegi Utara Hamlet is one of the hamlets in Plinlahan Village, Pandaan District, Pasuruan Regency which has large potential land for cultivating plants. Farmers in Ngadilegi Hamlet grow many crop commodities, one of which is melons. Melon (Cucumis melo L) is an annual fruit plant originating from the Persian Hot Valley or the Mediterranean region which is the border between West Asia, Europe and Africa. Melon plants are a type of pumpkin plant which is in the same family as watermelon, cantaloupe and cucumber. One effort to increase melon production in North Ngadilegi Hamlet can be done by good development and correct cultivation technology and supported by the use of new technology, namely the use of bacteria contained in PGPR. Soaking seeds with PGPR aims to ensure that the bacteria contained in PGPR are able to colonize the seeds as early as possible. Proper long soaking treatment of seeds can increase plant yields because bacteria will bind to the seed coat and imbibition into the seeds.

Picarbutrazox Effectiveness Added to a Seed Treatment Mixture for Management of Oomycetes that Impact Soybean in Ohio.

None of the current oomycota fungicides are effective towards all species of Phytophthora, Phytopythium, Globisporangium, and Pythium that affect soybean seed and seedlings in Ohio. Picarbutrazox is a new oomyceticide with a novel mode of action towards oomycete pathogens. Our objectives were to evaluate picarbutrazox to determine (i) baseline sensitivity (EC50) to 189 isolates of 29 species, (ii) the efficacy with a base seed treatment with three cultivars with different levels of resistance in 14 field environments; and (iii) if the rhizosphere microbiome was affected by the addition of the seed treatment on a moderately susceptible cultivar. The mycelial growth of all isolates was inhibited beginning at 0.001 μg, and the EC50 ranged from 0.0013 to 0.0483 μg of active ingredient (a.i.)/ml. The effect of seed treatment was significantly different for plant population and yield in eight of 14 and six of 12 environments, respectively. The addition of picarbutrazox at 1 and 2.5 g of a.i./100 kg seed to the base seed treatment compared to the base alone was associated with higher plant populations and yield in three and one environments, respectively. There was limited impact of the seed treatment mefenoxam 7.5 g of a.i. plus picarbutrazox 1 g of a.i./100 kg seed on the oomycetes detected in the rhizosphere of soybean seedlings collected at the V1 growth stage. Picarbutrazox has efficacy towards a wider range of oomycetes that cause disease on soybean, and this will be another oomyceticide tool to combat early season damping-off in areas where environmental conditions highly favor disease development.

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) treatment of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. seeds stimulates the sprout growth and the production of nutraceutical compounds

The possibility to stimulate the production of some nutraceutical properties of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) sprouts by non-thermal plasma (NTP) processing of the seeds in different conditions was studied. The non-thermal plasma used in this work was a surface dielectric barrier discharge. Two types of processing were performed: direct NTP treatment and NTP with a cover treatment, to simulate the processing of packaged seeds. For all treatments, the effect of pre-soaking of the seeds was studied as well. The analyses of the seeds after processing indicated an increase of the hydrophilicity of their surface for NTP direct treatment as resulted from the water contact angle measurements, which could be due to the strong etching evidenced by scanning electron microscopy imaging. A significant (p < 0.05) increase of the seedling growth, by up to 50%, was found especially for the pre-soaked seeds. These results were correlated with the increase of chlorophyll pigments concentrations, with higher concentrations in the case of NTP direct treatment than for the NTP with cover treatments. Direct NTP treatment for 30 s of dry seeds led to the highest increase of the flavonoid concentration of about three times compared to that obtained for untreated seeds. For the polyphenols and antioxidant activity, NTP with cover treatments proved to be better, with a significant increase, especially for 90 s treatment of the pre-soaked seeds. All the results indicate the possibility of tuning the nutraceutical properties of fenugreek sprouts by NTP treatment.

Unlocking Growth Potential: Enhancing Salt-Stressed Seed Germination and Seedling Growth with Ga3 Priming in Acacia auriculiformis A.cunn. ex Benth., Delonix regia (Bojer ex Hook.) Raf. and Cassia fistula L.

Gibberellic acid (GA3) is the one of the plant growth regulator which helps plants tolerate salt competently and diminishes the effects of salt stress. The present investigation was done to determine the effect of GA3 on two different Nacl concentrations on seed germination and physiological limits of four fabaceae seeds: Acacia auriculiformis A.Cunn. ex Benth., Delonix regia (Bojer ex Hook.) Raf., Cassia fistula L., and Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr. Experimentation was directed as a factorial with a completely randomised block design with three replicates. Salinity at two levels (50 mM and 100 mM NaCl) and hormone (GA3 at 150ppm versus no GA3 were the experimental conditions. Therefore, when the salt level was 50 mM NaCl, priming the seeds of these tree seeds with 150 ppm GA3 suggestively increased germination percentage, declined mean germination time, improved physiological parameters of the seeds.

Indukce organogeneze a multiplikace korkovníku amurského (Phellodendron amurense Rupr.) v in vitro podmínkách

Amurk cork tree (Phellodendron amurense Rupr.) is known for its anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, cholagogue, and antibacterial properties, and it is also a potential source of industrial cork. Shoot organogenesis and subsequent plant multiplication of Amur cork tree were established from mature seeds of trees growing on research plots in the Czech Republic. Germination percentage was increased by mechanical disruption of the seed coat, the highest number of germinated plants was achieved within 8–10 weeks of culture on MS medium containing 2 mg.l-1 BAP and 0,2 mg.l-1 NAA. Within 4 weeks of transfer to the multiplication medium containing 2 mg.l-1 BAP and 0,2 mg.l-1 NAA, chlorosis and reduced growth were observed in all cultured microcuttings. Lowering the BAP concentration to 0,4 mg.l-1 led to a resumption of growth, the newly emerging shoots and leaves were vital and the multiplication rate was around 90%. Our developed plant regeneration method may be useful in future studies on ex vitro establishment of in vitro derived plants.