Effects of Salinity and Drought Levels in Seed Germination of Five Crop Species
The heterotrophic seedling growth can be defined as a
product of two components: (1) the weight of mobilized seed reserve,
and (2) conversion efficiency of utilized seed reserve to seedling
tissue. The first component can be further divided into (1) initial seed
weight, and (2) the fraction of seed reserve, which is mobilized. The
objective of this study was the identification of the sensitive seedling
growth component(s) in response to drought and salinity stresses.
Two experiments were separately conducted using various salinity
levels (osmotic pressure) of 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1, 1.25 and 1.5 MPa
created using NaCl as first experiment and by polyethylene glycol
(drought stress) of 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 1.2 and 1.4 MPa in second
experiment. Seeds of five crops species (Hordeum vulgare, Brassica
napus, Zea mays, Medicago sativa and Medicago scutellata) were
used in each experiment. In both experiments, seedling growth,
fraction of seed reserve utilization and weight of mobilized seed
reserve decreased with increasing drought and salt intensity.
However, drought and salinity stresses had no effect on the
conversion efficiency. It was concluded that the sensitive component
of seedling growth is the weight of mobilized seed reserve.
[1] Ashraf, M., McNeily, T., 1988. Variability in salt tolerance of nine
spring wheat cultivars. J. Agron. Crop Sci. 160, 14-21
[2] Beveridge, J.L., Wilise, C.P., 1959. Influence of depth of planting, seed
size and variety on emergence and seedling vigor in alfalfa. Agron. J. 51,
731-734.
[3] Bockous, W.W., Shroyer, J.P., 1996. Effect of seed size on seedling
vigor and forage production of winter wheat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 76, 101-
105.
[4] Carter, T.E., Jr., P.I. DeSouza, and L.C. Purcell. 1999. Recent advances
in breeding for drought and aluminum resistance in soybean. P. 106-125.
In H.E. Kauffman (ed). Proc. Of World Soybean Res. Conf., VI,
Chicago. 4-7 Aug. 1999. Superior Print., Champaign, IL.
[5] Condon, A.G., Richards, R.A., Farquhar, G.D., 1993. Relationships
between carbon isotope discrimination, water use efficiency and
transpiration efficiency for dry land wheat. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 44,
1693-1711.
[6] Davidson, D.J., Chevalier, P.M., 1987. Influence of polyethylenglycol
induced water deficits on tiller production in spring wheat. Crop Sci. 27,
1185-118.
[7] Douglas, C.L., Wilkins, D.E., Churchill, D.B., 1994. Tillage, seed size
and seed density effects on performance of soft white winter wheat.
Agron. J. 86, 707-711.
[8] Francois, L.E., Maas, E.V., Donovan, T.J., Young's, V.L., 1986. Effects
of salinity on grain yield and quality, vegetative growth and germination
of semi dwarf and drum wheat. Agron. J. 78, 1053-1058.
[9] Goydani, B.M., Singh, C., 1971. Influence of seed size on growth and
yield of wheat. Indian J. Agron. 16, 209-212.
[10] Grieve, C.M., Francois, L.E., 1992. The importance of initial seed size
in wheat plant response to salinity. Plant Soil 147, 197-205.
[11] Guedira, M., Shroyer, J.P., Kirkham, M.B., Paulsen, G.M., 1997. Wheat
coleoptile and root growth and seedling survival after dehydration and
rehydration. Agron. J. 89, 822-826.
[12] Hampson, C.R., Simpson, G.M., 1990. Effects of temperature, salt and
osmotic pressure on early growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum). 1.
Germination. Can. J. Bot. 68, 524-528.
[13] Hegary, T.W., Ross, H.A., 1976. Effects of light and water deficit on
radicle growth of lettuce seeds under high temperature stress. New
Phytol. 82, 49-57.
[14] Johnson, D.R.,Wax, L.M., 1978. Relationships of soybean germination
and vigor tests to field performance. Agron. J. 70, 273-278.
[15] Kiem, D.L., Krostad, W.E., 1981. Drought response of winter wheat
cultivars grown under field stress conditions. Crop Sci. 21, 11-15.
[16] Lafond, G.P., Backer, R.J., 1986. Effects of temperature, moisture
stress, and seed size on germination of nine spring wheat cultivars. Crop
Sci. 26, 563-567.
[17] Peterson, C.M., Klepper, B., Rickman,R.W., 1989. Seed reserves and
seedling development in winter wheat. Agron. J. 81, 245-251.
[18] Purcell, L.C., and J.E. Specht. 2003. Physiological traits for
ameliorating water-deficit stress. In H.R. Boerma and J.E. Specht (ed).
Soybean: Improvement, production, and uses (in press). 3rd ed. Agron.
Monogr. 16. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, Madison, WI.
[19] Randhawa, A.S., Anand, S.C., Jolly, R.S., 1974. Effect of seed-size and
seed-rate on wheat yield. J. Res. 11, 9-12.
[20] Serraj, R., and T.R. Sinclair. 2002. Osmolyte accumulation: Can it
really help increase crop yield under drought conditions? Plant Cell
Environ. 25: 333-341.
[21] Shroyer, J.P., Cox, T.S., 1984. Effects of cultivar, environment and their
interaction on seed quality of hard red winter wheat from production
fields. J. Appl. Seed Prod. 2, 24-28.
[22] Singh, B.P., 1970. Influence of seed size and depth of sowing on early
growth and yield of dwarf wheat. Madras Agric. J. 57, 449-452.
[1] Ashraf, M., McNeily, T., 1988. Variability in salt tolerance of nine
spring wheat cultivars. J. Agron. Crop Sci. 160, 14-21
[2] Beveridge, J.L., Wilise, C.P., 1959. Influence of depth of planting, seed
size and variety on emergence and seedling vigor in alfalfa. Agron. J. 51,
731-734.
[3] Bockous, W.W., Shroyer, J.P., 1996. Effect of seed size on seedling
vigor and forage production of winter wheat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 76, 101-
105.
[4] Carter, T.E., Jr., P.I. DeSouza, and L.C. Purcell. 1999. Recent advances
in breeding for drought and aluminum resistance in soybean. P. 106-125.
In H.E. Kauffman (ed). Proc. Of World Soybean Res. Conf., VI,
Chicago. 4-7 Aug. 1999. Superior Print., Champaign, IL.
[5] Condon, A.G., Richards, R.A., Farquhar, G.D., 1993. Relationships
between carbon isotope discrimination, water use efficiency and
transpiration efficiency for dry land wheat. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 44,
1693-1711.
[6] Davidson, D.J., Chevalier, P.M., 1987. Influence of polyethylenglycol
induced water deficits on tiller production in spring wheat. Crop Sci. 27,
1185-118.
[7] Douglas, C.L., Wilkins, D.E., Churchill, D.B., 1994. Tillage, seed size
and seed density effects on performance of soft white winter wheat.
Agron. J. 86, 707-711.
[8] Francois, L.E., Maas, E.V., Donovan, T.J., Young's, V.L., 1986. Effects
of salinity on grain yield and quality, vegetative growth and germination
of semi dwarf and drum wheat. Agron. J. 78, 1053-1058.
[9] Goydani, B.M., Singh, C., 1971. Influence of seed size on growth and
yield of wheat. Indian J. Agron. 16, 209-212.
[10] Grieve, C.M., Francois, L.E., 1992. The importance of initial seed size
in wheat plant response to salinity. Plant Soil 147, 197-205.
[11] Guedira, M., Shroyer, J.P., Kirkham, M.B., Paulsen, G.M., 1997. Wheat
coleoptile and root growth and seedling survival after dehydration and
rehydration. Agron. J. 89, 822-826.
[12] Hampson, C.R., Simpson, G.M., 1990. Effects of temperature, salt and
osmotic pressure on early growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum). 1.
Germination. Can. J. Bot. 68, 524-528.
[13] Hegary, T.W., Ross, H.A., 1976. Effects of light and water deficit on
radicle growth of lettuce seeds under high temperature stress. New
Phytol. 82, 49-57.
[14] Johnson, D.R.,Wax, L.M., 1978. Relationships of soybean germination
and vigor tests to field performance. Agron. J. 70, 273-278.
[15] Kiem, D.L., Krostad, W.E., 1981. Drought response of winter wheat
cultivars grown under field stress conditions. Crop Sci. 21, 11-15.
[16] Lafond, G.P., Backer, R.J., 1986. Effects of temperature, moisture
stress, and seed size on germination of nine spring wheat cultivars. Crop
Sci. 26, 563-567.
[17] Peterson, C.M., Klepper, B., Rickman,R.W., 1989. Seed reserves and
seedling development in winter wheat. Agron. J. 81, 245-251.
[18] Purcell, L.C., and J.E. Specht. 2003. Physiological traits for
ameliorating water-deficit stress. In H.R. Boerma and J.E. Specht (ed).
Soybean: Improvement, production, and uses (in press). 3rd ed. Agron.
Monogr. 16. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, Madison, WI.
[19] Randhawa, A.S., Anand, S.C., Jolly, R.S., 1974. Effect of seed-size and
seed-rate on wheat yield. J. Res. 11, 9-12.
[20] Serraj, R., and T.R. Sinclair. 2002. Osmolyte accumulation: Can it
really help increase crop yield under drought conditions? Plant Cell
Environ. 25: 333-341.
[21] Shroyer, J.P., Cox, T.S., 1984. Effects of cultivar, environment and their
interaction on seed quality of hard red winter wheat from production
fields. J. Appl. Seed Prod. 2, 24-28.
[22] Singh, B.P., 1970. Influence of seed size and depth of sowing on early
growth and yield of dwarf wheat. Madras Agric. J. 57, 449-452.
@article{"International Journal of Biological, Life and Agricultural Sciences:50548", author = "Ahmad Gholami and Saeed Sharafi and Hamid Abbasdokht", title = "Effects of Salinity and Drought Levels in Seed Germination of Five Crop Species", abstract = "The heterotrophic seedling growth can be defined as a
product of two components: (1) the weight of mobilized seed reserve,
and (2) conversion efficiency of utilized seed reserve to seedling
tissue. The first component can be further divided into (1) initial seed
weight, and (2) the fraction of seed reserve, which is mobilized. The
objective of this study was the identification of the sensitive seedling
growth component(s) in response to drought and salinity stresses.
Two experiments were separately conducted using various salinity
levels (osmotic pressure) of 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1, 1.25 and 1.5 MPa
created using NaCl as first experiment and by polyethylene glycol
(drought stress) of 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 1.2 and 1.4 MPa in second
experiment. Seeds of five crops species (Hordeum vulgare, Brassica
napus, Zea mays, Medicago sativa and Medicago scutellata) were
used in each experiment. In both experiments, seedling growth,
fraction of seed reserve utilization and weight of mobilized seed
reserve decreased with increasing drought and salt intensity.
However, drought and salinity stresses had no effect on the
conversion efficiency. It was concluded that the sensitive component
of seedling growth is the weight of mobilized seed reserve.", keywords = "Salinity, Drought, Seed reserve, Seedling, Cropsspecies", volume = "4", number = "8", pages = "501-4", }
