Hydropriming with Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates Salt Stress in Wheat Seedlings

Talaat Ahmed, Ahmed Abou Elezz and Muhammad Fasih Khalid
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Talaat Ahmed: Environmental Science Center, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar
Ahmed Abou Elezz: Environmental Science Center, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar
Muhammad Fasih Khalid: Environmental Science Center, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Salinity is the major constraint that decreases the yield and production of crops. Wheat has a significant value in agricultural food commodities. The germination and growth of wheat seedlings are a big challenge in salt-affected soils. The seed priming technique is used to mitigate salt stress and enhance the germination and growth of the crops. Therefore, the current study was conducted to evaluate the hydropriming of natural plant extract (moringa leaf extract) and water on wheat seeds and grown under different saline (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 M NaCl) environments. The germination attributes (germination percentage, germination index, mean germination day, coefficient of variance, vigor index) and seedling growth (fresh weight, dry weight, root length, shoot length) were enhanced in the plants primed by moringa leaf extract. The germination percentage was observed 10% more at 0.2 M NaCl stress in seeds treated with moringa leaf extract than seeds treated with water. The nutrient (K, Ca, Mg, P, S, Fe, B, Mn, Zn, Cu) uptake was also observed more in the shoots and roots of wheat seedlings soaked in moringa leaf extract as compared to soaked in water. Controlled plants showed higher concentrations of toxic ions (Na) and reactive oxygen species (H 2 O 2 ) in shoots and roots of wheat seedlings. The use of moringa leaf extract for priming wheat seeds will enhance their germination and growth by maintaining efficient nutrient uptake and restricting the toxic ions and reactive oxygen species accumulation.

Keywords: abiotic stress; germination; plant growth; reactive oxygen species; toxic ions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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