Open AccessSeed priming with different agents mitigate alkalinity induced oxidative damage and improves maize growth
Author(s) -
Imran Khan,
Hina Zafar,
Muhammad Umer Chattha,
Athar Mahmood,
Rizwan Maqbool,
Fareeha Athar,
Maryam A. Alahdal,
Farhana BIBI,
Faisal Mahmood,
Muhammad Umair Hassan,
Sameer H. Qari
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
notulae botanicae horti agrobotanici cluj-napoca
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1842-4309
pISSN - 0255-965X
DOI - 10.15835/nbha50112615
Subject(s) - alkalinity , chemistry , priming (agriculture) , apx , malondialdehyde , agronomy , potassium , hydrogen peroxide , seedling , horticulture , antioxidant , biochemistry , biology , catalase , organic chemistry
Soil alkalinity is a severe threat to crop production globally as it markedly retards plant growth. Different techniques are used to mitigate alkaline stress, but priming techniques are considered the most appropriate. The current study was carried out in complete randomized design (CRD) to evaluate the effect of different priming techniques on maize crop grown under different levels of alkalinity stress. The experiment was comprised of different treatments of alkalinity stress (AS) including, control, 6 dS m-1 and 12 dS m-1 and different priming techniques including control, hydro-priming (HP), osmo-priming (OP) with potassium nitrate: KNO3) and redox-priming (RP) with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Results indicated that alkalinity stress significantly reduced plant growth and biomass production and induced severe alterations in physiological attributes and antioxidant activities. Soil alkalinity significantly reduced the root and shoot growth and subsequent biomass production by increasing electrolyte leakage (70.60%), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2: 31.65%), malondialdehyde (MDA: 46.23%) and sodium (Na+) accumulation (22.76%) and reduction in photosynthetic pigments, relative water contents (RWC), total soluble proteins (TSP) and free amino acids, potassium (K+) accumulation. However, priming treatments significantly alleviated the alkalinity-induced toxic effects and improved plant growth. OP (KNO3) remained the top performing. It appreciably improved plant growth owing to the improved synthesis of photosynthetic pigments, better RWC (16.42%), TSP (138.28%), FAA (178.37%), and K+ accumulation (31.385) and improved antioxidant activities (APX and CAT) by favoring the Na+ exclusion and maintenance of optimum Na+/K+. In conclusion, KNO3 priming is an imperative seed priming practice to improve maize growth and biomass production under alkalinity stress.