Improvement of physiological performance of selected cereals by modulating pregerminative metabolic activity in seeds

Abstract

Priming method is a presowing seed treatment which regulates the metabolic events in seed necessary for germination. Thus, the seed priming is a promising approach for improving seed germination and growth performances under diverse environmental conditions. This study was conducted in order to examine the effect of different priming agents (10−3 gibberellic acid—GA3, 10−3 indole-3-acetic acid—IAA, 2.5% KNO3, 1% MgSO4, 1% H2O2, 0.01% ascorbic acid (AA) and H2O) on germination, growth, vigor, relative water content, concentration of photosynthetic pigments, and protein content in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and oat (Avena sativa L.). The obtained results showed an improved performance of wheat, barley, and oat due to seed priming compared to non-primed seed, but the effects depended on the tested cereal and the applied treatment. Overall, ascorbic acid can be regarded as a priming agent with the poorest performance. Treatments with GA3 and KNO3 exhibited the most significant effects on wheat and oat seed germination, growth and vigor, whereas GA3 and IAA were the most effective priming agents for barley. Priming seeds with GA3 significantly increased the values of the vigor index in all tested types of cereals. However, different priming treatments were effective for improvement of physiological performance of tested cereals. H2O2, and H2O contributed to the higher leaf water content, concentration of photosynthetic pigments, and protein content in wheat and barley, while these parameters were improved in oat by priming with MgSO4. In terms of tested parameters and diverse priming agents, oat can be regarded as the most responsive crop to priming compared to wheat and barley. It was concluded that the germination, growth, and physiological performance of wheat, barley, and oat could be improved by the priming method, but only by using the appropriate priming agent.