Effects of hydropriming treatments on the invigoration of aged Dodonaea viscosa seeds and water‐holding polymer on the improvement of seedling growth in a lava field

Abstract

Restoration requires techniques similar to those used in agriculture to improve germination and seedling vigor. We treated 6‐year‐old (collected in 2003, S‐2003) and 1‐month‐old (S‐2009) seeds of Dodonaea viscosa with hydropriming (HP). Seeds were made permeable with hot water prior to hydration for 24 or 48 hours (HP‐24 and HP‐48, respectively) followed by dehydration. The resulting seedlings exposed to both HP treatments were sown in a lava field in soil mixed with hydrogel (HG) under the shade projected by five vegetation patches. The effects of these treatments on germination, seedling field survival, and growth were assessed. HP‐24 in S‐2009 and HP‐48 in S‐2003 increased the germination percentage from 22.5 and 31.7% in control seeds (permeable seeds) to 63.3 and 98.3%, respectively. The seedlings‐2009 (from S‐2009) with HG maintained high survival in all vegetation patches. Seedlings‐2003, however, had low survival. The lack of HG was negatively related to the photon flux in each patch. Survival of seedlings‐2009 increased with HG of up to 398.41 µmol m−2 s−1; after which survival decreased. During the rainy season, HP enhanced seedling growth, except the basal diameters and number of leaves in the seedlings‐2003 with HP‐24. During the dry season, the effects of HG and HP were similar for all the seedlings. In the following rainy season, the priming effect was lost while HG continued to promote seedling growth. The combined use of HP and HG and the shade projected by the patches resulted in a successful vegetation recovery strategy.

Seed enhancement: getting seeds restoration‐ready

“…The ability to promote more rapid germination across a wider range of conditions may be particularly salient in regions where environmental conditions are highly stochastic, such as drylands (Pedrero‐López et al ; Erickson et al ; Kildisheva ). Erickson et al () and Kildisheva et al () reported on the potential for the integration of seed priming into the restoration tool kit in the context of mine rehabilitation, either alone or in combination with other seed enhancement techniques.…”

Seed Priming Effects on Germination and Seedling Establishment of Useful Tropical Trees for Ecological Restoration

“…Performance of seeds and seedlings can be increased by applying pretreatment to seeds and seedlings before transplanting them to the field (Ben ıtez-Rodr ıguez et al, 2014;Singh & Chaturvedi, 2018). Seed priming (hydration followed by dehydration, sensu Heydecker, Higgins, & Gulliver, 1973) has been successfully implemented to increase seed and seedling performance of agricultural plants and also for some native plants (Benech-Arnold & Sa´nchez, 2004; Pedrero-L opez, Rosete-Rodr ıguez, Sa´nchez-Coronado, Mendoza-Herna´ndez, & Orozco-Segovia, 2016;A. Sa´nchez, Orta, & Muñoz, 2001; J.…”

“…Hydropriming and natural priming have been applied successfully to orthodox seeds (long-lived; Orozco-Segovia et al, 2014). In the last few decades, it has been demonstrated that priming treatments can be an option to improve restoration practices (Ben ıtez-Rodr ıguez et al, 2014;Orozco-Segovia et al, 2014;Pedrero-L opez et al, 2016;Singh & Chaturvedi, 2018).…”

Influence of salt stress on propagation, growth and nutrient uptake of typical aquatic plant species

“…Maintaining a low Na + /K + ratio in the cytoplasm is also an efficient salinity tolerant strategy for some halophytes (Zhang et al 2013). In contrast, higher Na + concentrations and Na + /K + ratios in aquatic plants could theoretically restrict their asexual reproduction and growth (Mercado et al 2012, Pedrero-Lopez et al 2016.…”