Potential of Seed Halopriming in the Mitigation of Salinity Stress during Germination and Seedling Establishment in Durum Wheat (<i>Triticum durum</i> Desf.)
The salinity of soils and irrigation water is among the main factors that limit plant productivity worldwide. Several alternatives have been proposed to get around this problem. However, these alternatives have faced difficulties in their implementation. As an alternative, the adverse effects of sal...
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/1/66 |
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| author | Manel Hmissi Abdelmajid Krouma Francisco García-Sánchez Mohamed Chaieb |
| author_facet | Manel Hmissi Abdelmajid Krouma Francisco García-Sánchez Mohamed Chaieb |
| author_sort | Manel Hmissi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The salinity of soils and irrigation water is among the main factors that limit plant productivity worldwide. Several alternatives have been proposed to get around this problem. However, these alternatives have faced difficulties in their implementation. As an alternative, the adverse effects of salinity on crop yield can be minimized by selecting species and varieties better adapted to salinity and/or by finding priming agents that give plants a certain tolerance during the vegetative and reproductive stages. The latter are strictly dependent on germination and seedling establishment. For this purpose, a laboratory experiment was conducted on three Tunisian wheat cultivars (Karim, Razeg, and Maali) subjected to moderate salinity stress (MSS, 5 g L<sup>−1</sup> NaCl), severe salinity stress (SSS, 10 g L<sup>−1</sup> NaCl), or control (0 NaCl) after soaking the seeds in a solution of KNO<sub>3</sub> or ZnSO<sub>4</sub> (0.5 g L<sup>−1</sup>). Salinity stress significantly decreased germination capacity (GC) and induced osmotic stress under MSS, which declined under SSS in favor of toxic stress. Pretreatment of seeds with KNO<sub>3</sub> or ZnSO<sub>4</sub> alleviated the toxic effect, and seedlings recovered initial vigor and GC even under SSS. The Karim cultivar showed better tolerance to salinity and a higher ability to react to priming agents. The calculated sensitivity tolerance index (STI) based on germination capacity, seedling growth, and initial vigor decreased in all cultivars under salt stress; however, this parameter clearly discriminated the studied cultivars. Karim was the most tolerant as compared to Razeg and Maali. We conclude that halopriming provides a benefit by alleviating the harmful effects of salt toxicity and that cultivars differ in their response to priming and extent of salt stress. KNO<sub>3</sub> and ZnSO<sub>4</sub> effectively alleviated the inhibitory effect of salt stress on seed germination and seedling establishment while significantly improving initial vigor. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:59:08Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:59:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
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| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-34b0c4928ff4450a8051705bbb267ea32024-01-10T15:06:09ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472023-12-011316610.3390/plants13010066Potential of Seed Halopriming in the Mitigation of Salinity Stress during Germination and Seedling Establishment in Durum Wheat (<i>Triticum durum</i> Desf.)Manel Hmissi0Abdelmajid Krouma1Francisco García-Sánchez2Mohamed Chaieb3Laboratory of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Arid Land of Tunisia, Faculty of Sciences, University of Sfax, Sfax 3029, TunisiaLaboratory of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Arid Land of Tunisia, Faculty of Sciences, University of Sfax, Sfax 3029, TunisiaCentro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS-CSIC), E-30100 Murcia, SpainLaboratory of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Arid Land of Tunisia, Faculty of Sciences, University of Sfax, Sfax 3029, TunisiaThe salinity of soils and irrigation water is among the main factors that limit plant productivity worldwide. Several alternatives have been proposed to get around this problem. However, these alternatives have faced difficulties in their implementation. As an alternative, the adverse effects of salinity on crop yield can be minimized by selecting species and varieties better adapted to salinity and/or by finding priming agents that give plants a certain tolerance during the vegetative and reproductive stages. The latter are strictly dependent on germination and seedling establishment. For this purpose, a laboratory experiment was conducted on three Tunisian wheat cultivars (Karim, Razeg, and Maali) subjected to moderate salinity stress (MSS, 5 g L<sup>−1</sup> NaCl), severe salinity stress (SSS, 10 g L<sup>−1</sup> NaCl), or control (0 NaCl) after soaking the seeds in a solution of KNO<sub>3</sub> or ZnSO<sub>4</sub> (0.5 g L<sup>−1</sup>). Salinity stress significantly decreased germination capacity (GC) and induced osmotic stress under MSS, which declined under SSS in favor of toxic stress. Pretreatment of seeds with KNO<sub>3</sub> or ZnSO<sub>4</sub> alleviated the toxic effect, and seedlings recovered initial vigor and GC even under SSS. The Karim cultivar showed better tolerance to salinity and a higher ability to react to priming agents. The calculated sensitivity tolerance index (STI) based on germination capacity, seedling growth, and initial vigor decreased in all cultivars under salt stress; however, this parameter clearly discriminated the studied cultivars. Karim was the most tolerant as compared to Razeg and Maali. We conclude that halopriming provides a benefit by alleviating the harmful effects of salt toxicity and that cultivars differ in their response to priming and extent of salt stress. KNO<sub>3</sub> and ZnSO<sub>4</sub> effectively alleviated the inhibitory effect of salt stress on seed germination and seedling establishment while significantly improving initial vigor.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/1/66seed pretreatmentinitial vigorosmotic effectseedling emergencestress tolerance indextoxic effect |
| spellingShingle | Manel Hmissi Abdelmajid Krouma Francisco García-Sánchez Mohamed Chaieb Potential of Seed Halopriming in the Mitigation of Salinity Stress during Germination and Seedling Establishment in Durum Wheat (<i>Triticum durum</i> Desf.) Plants seed pretreatment initial vigor osmotic effect seedling emergence stress tolerance index toxic effect |
| title | Potential of Seed Halopriming in the Mitigation of Salinity Stress during Germination and Seedling Establishment in Durum Wheat (<i>Triticum durum</i> Desf.) |
| title_full | Potential of Seed Halopriming in the Mitigation of Salinity Stress during Germination and Seedling Establishment in Durum Wheat (<i>Triticum durum</i> Desf.) |
| title_fullStr | Potential of Seed Halopriming in the Mitigation of Salinity Stress during Germination and Seedling Establishment in Durum Wheat (<i>Triticum durum</i> Desf.) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential of Seed Halopriming in the Mitigation of Salinity Stress during Germination and Seedling Establishment in Durum Wheat (<i>Triticum durum</i> Desf.) |
| title_short | Potential of Seed Halopriming in the Mitigation of Salinity Stress during Germination and Seedling Establishment in Durum Wheat (<i>Triticum durum</i> Desf.) |
| title_sort | potential of seed halopriming in the mitigation of salinity stress during germination and seedling establishment in durum wheat i triticum durum i desf |
| topic | seed pretreatment initial vigor osmotic effect seedling emergence stress tolerance index toxic effect |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/1/66 |
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