INDUCING SALT TOLERANCE IN FRENCH MARIGOLD (Tagetes patula) THROUGH SEED PRIMING

Irfan Afzal

Seed Physiology Lab, Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abdul Rahim

Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

Muhammad Qasim

Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

Adnan Younis

Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

Aamir Nawaz

Faculty of Agriculture Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

Muhammad Amir Bakhtavar

Seed Physiology Lab, Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan



Abstract

The present study investigates the potential of seed priming for induction of salt tolerance in French marigold at early growth stage. Treatments were combination of priming techniques viz. hydropriming, halopriming (50 mM CaCl2), hormonal priming with salicylic acid (100 ppm) and ascorbate priming (100 ppm) each for 24 h. Primed seeds were exposed to salinity levels (0; 50 and 100 mM NaCl) during germination and emergence assays. All priming treatments hastened germination and emergence attributes under saline or non-saline conditions as compared to those of non-primed (control) seeds. Seeds of French marigold primed with ascorbate followed by CaCl2, salicylic acid and hydropriming enhanced final germination, speed of germination, root and shoot length and dry mass of French marigold seedlings. This was interpreted by minimized mean emergence time and time to 50% emergence. Additionally, it was also observed that all priming agents particularly calcium salt and ascorbate maintained ionic homeostasis in salt stressed seedlings. It is concluded that CaCl2, ascorbate and salicylic acid were the most effective priming agents to ameliorate the adverse effects of salinity in French marigold due to lower uptake of Na+ and higher uptake
of K+ in the seedlings.

Keywords:

emergence, ionic homeostasis, seedling vigor, salt tolerance, seed treatment

Afzal, I., Rauf, S., Basra, S.M.A., Murtaza, G. (2008). Halopriming improves vigor, metabolism of reserves and ionic contents in wheat seedlings under salt stress. Plant Soil Environ., 54, 382–388.
Afzal, I., Ashraf, S., Qasim, M., Basra, S.M.A., Shahid, M. (2009). Does halopriming improve germination and seedling vigor in marigold (Tagetes spp.). Seed Sci. Technol., 37, 436–445.
Afzal, I., Basra, S.M.A., Cheema, M.A., Farooq, M., Jafar, M.Z., Shahid, M., Yasmeen, A. (2013). Seed priming: A shotgun approach for alleviation of salt stress in wheat. Int. J. Agric. Biol., 15, 1199–1203.
Al-Karaki, G.N. (2000). Growth, water use efficiency, and sodium and potassium acquisition by tomato cultivars grown under salt stress. J. Plant Nutr., 23, 1–8.
Ashraf, M., Foolad, M.R. (2005). Pre-sowing seed treatment a shotgun approach to improve germination, plant growth, and crop yield under saline and non-saline conditions. Adv. Agron., 88, 223–271.
Athar, H., Khan, A., Ashraf, M. (2008). Exogenously applied ascorbic acid alleviates salt induced oxidative stress in wheat. Environ. Exp. Bot., 63, 224–231.
Bose, J., Rodrigo-Moreno, A., Lai, D., Xie, Y., Shen, W., Shabala, S. (2015). Rapid regulation of the plasma membrane H+-ATPase activity is essential to salinity tolerance in two halophyte species, Atriplex lentiformis and Chenopodium quinoa. Ann. Bot., 155(3), 481–494.
Bosma, T.L., Conway, K.E., Dole, J.M., Maness, N.O. (2003). Sowing dates and priming influence African marigold field emergence. HortTechnology, 13, 487–493.
Bradford, K.J. (1986). Manipulation of seed water relations via osmotic priming to improve germination under stress conditions. HortScience, 30, 1106–1112.
Carter, C.T., Grieve, C.M. (2008). Mineral nutrition, growth, and germination of Antirrhinum majus L. (Snapdragon) when produced under increasingly saline conditions. HortScience, 43, 710–718.
Coolbear, P., Francis, A., Grierson, D. (1984). The effect of low temperature pre-sowing treatment on the germination performance and membrane integrity of artificially aged tomato seeds. J. Exp. Bot. 35, 1609–1617.
Demir, I., Oztokat, C. (2003). Effect of salt priming on germination and seedling growth at lower temperature in watermelon seeds during development. Seed Sci. Technol., 31, 765–770.
Ellis, R.A., Robert, E.H. (1981). The quantification of ageing and survival in orthodox seeds. Seed Sci. Technol., 9, 373–409.
FAO (2010). Land and plant nutrition management service: FAO. Available online at: http://www.fao.org/ag/AGL/ agll/prosoil/saline.htm. Accessed on: 15.07.2016.
Ghassemi-Golezani, K., Aliloo, A.A., Valizadeh, M., Moghaddam, M. (2008). Effects of hydro and osmopriming on seed germination and field emergence of lentil. Bot. Hort. Agrobot. Cluj., 36, 29–33.
Greenway, H., Munns, R. (1980). Mechanisms of salt tolerance in non halophytes. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol., 31, 149–190.
International Seed Testing Association (2015). International Rules for Seed Testing. International Seed Testing Association, Switzerland.
Kathiresan, K., Kalani, V., Ganarethinam, J.L. (1984). Effect of seed treatments on field emergence and early seedling growth of melons early growth and some physiological processes of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Field Crops Res., 9, 215–217.
Kong, X.Q., Luo, Z., Dong, H.H., Eneji, A.E., Li, W.J. (2012). Effects of non-uniform root zone salinity on water use, Na+ recirculation, and Na+ and H+ flux in cotton. J. Exp. Bot., 63, 2105–2116.
Lee, M.K., Iersel, M.W.V. (2008). Sodium chloride effects on growth, morphology, and physiology of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium). HortScience, 43, 1888–1891.
Lee, S.S., Kim, J.H. (2000). Total sugars, α-amylase activity, and germination after priming of normal and aged rice seeds. Kor. J. Crop. Sci., 45, 108–111.
Lovato, P., Guillemin, J.P., Gianinazz, S. (1992). Application of commercial arbuscular endomycorrhizal fungal inoculants to the establishment of micropropagated grapevine rootstocks and pineapple plants. Agronomie, 12, 873–880.
Mukhtar, K., Afzal, I., Qasim, M., Basra, S.M.A., Shahid, M. (2013). Does priming promote germination and early stand establishment of french marigold (tagetes patula L.) seeds by inducing physiological and biochemical changes? Acta Sci. Pol. Hortorum Cultus, 12, 13–21.
Shannon, M.C., Grieve, C.M. (1999). Tolerance of vegetable crops to salinity. Sci. Hortic., 78, 5–38.
Sun, J., Chen, S.L., Dai, S.X., Wang, R.G., Li, N.Y., Shen, X., Zhou, X.Y., Lu, C.F., Zheng, X.J., Hu, Z.M., Zhang, Z.K., Song, J., Xu, Y. (2009). NaCl-induced alternations of cellular and tissue ion fluxes in roots of salt-resistant and salt-sensitive poplar species. Plant Physiol., 149, 1141–1153.
Sung, F.J., Chang, Y.H. (1993). Biochemical activities associated with priming of sweet corn seeds to improve vigour. Seed Sci. Technol., 21, 97–105.
Thimmaiah, S.R. (2004). Standard Methods of Biochemical Analysis. Kalyani Press, New Dehli.
Valdez-Aguilar, L.A., Grieve, C.M., Poss, J. (2009). Salinity and alkaline pH in irrigation water affect marigold plants: I. Growth and shoot dry weight partitioning. HortScience, 446, 1719–1725.
Varavinit, S., Chaokasem, N., Shobsngob, S. (2002). Immobilization of a thermostable a-amylase. Sci. Asia, 28, 247–251.
Yamaguchi, T., Blumwald, E. (2005). Developing salttolerant crop plants: challenges and opportunities. Trends Plant Sci., 10, 615–620.
Zarcinas, B.A., Cartwright, B., Spouncer, L.R. (1987). Nitric acid digestion and multi-element analysis of plant material by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal., 18, 131–146.
Zhang, J., Jia, W., Yang, J., Ismal, A.M. (2006). Role of ABA integrating plant responses to drought and salt stresses. Field Crops Res., 97, 111–119.
Download

Published
2017-06-30



Irfan Afzal 
Seed Physiology Lab, Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan
Abdul Rahim 
Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan
Muhammad Qasim 
Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan
Adnan Younis 
Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan
Aamir Nawaz 
Faculty of Agriculture Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
Muhammad Amir Bakhtavar 
Seed Physiology Lab, Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan



License

 

Articles are made available under the conditions CC BY 4.0 (until 2020 under the conditions CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
Submission of the paper implies that it has not been published previously, that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

The author signs a statement of the originality of the work, the contribution of individuals, and source of funding.

 


Most read articles by the same author(s)