Effects of light, temperature, salinity, and maternal habitat on seed germination of Aeluropus lagopoides (Poaceae): an economically important halophyte of arid Arabian deserts

Abstract

In this study, salt tolerance during germination of Aeluropus lagopoides (L.) Trin. was tested using fresh seeds collected from three different maternal habitats under three thermoperiods and two light regimes. Additionally, we tested the ability of non-germinated seeds that had been exposed to different concentrations of NaCl to recover their germination in distilled water. The results showed a significant effect of seed source, temperature, and salinity, and some of their two- and three-way interactions on final germination and recovery percentage. The seeds from non-saline provenances had the highest percentages for germination (ca. 79%) under the 35/25 °C temperature regime, whereas the lowest percentages for germination (ca. 21%) was recorded for seeds from saline conditions under the 25/15 °C treatment. Additionally, percent germination was significantly lower for the seeds incubated in the saline solutions (100, 200, 400, and 600 mmol/L NaCl) and germinated under colder conditions (15/25 °C), compared with the seeds incubated in non-saline solutions (control group, 0 mmol/L NaCl) and germinated under warmer conditions (35/25 °C). The highest recovery percentage was recorded for seeds of the hyper-saline habitat incubated at 35/25 °C. Thus, seeds maintained their viability despite experiencing a range of saline conditions and were able to germinate upon the arrival of suitable conditions, which can be an adaptation to its saline arid desert habitat.

Maternal environment alters dead pericarp biochemical properties of the desert annual plant Anastatica hierochuntica L.

“…Furthermore, progeny seeds derived from stressed plants had low germination capacity (about 65%) and reduced germination rate (2-fold reduction) compared to seeds derived from control, untreated plants. Similarly, seeds of the facultative halophyte Anabasis setifera and of the grass Aeluropus lagopoides collected from non-saline and saline habitats showed significantly better seed germination of the non-saline seeds compared to seeds collected from saline habitat [46,47]. Yet, while many reports addressed the effect of parental conditions on the morphology and biology of progeny seeds, there are few reports addressing the effect of parental growth conditions on the composition and level of substances accumulated within DOEEs.…”

Differential Responses of Dimorphic Seeds and Seedlings to Abiotic Stresses in the Halophyte Suaeda salsa

“…Temperature is one of the most important environmental factors for change of seed dormancy and germination velocity ( Fenner and Thompson, 2005 ). The temperature requirement for germination is determined by the plant species, source of the seeds, genetic differences with a given species, the age of the seeds, as well as by the seed position on a single plant ( Gutterman, 2002 ; Bhatt et al, 2020 ). Generally, the temperature range for germination is wider for non-dormant seeds than that for dormant seeds ( Baskin and Baskin, 2014 ).…”

Seed Germination Ecology of South Eastern Australian Rigid Ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) Populations

“…Factors such as temperature and soil salinity vary between and within different cropping regions across multiple states of Australia (Ivushkin et al 2018). This would lead to varied germination responses across populations from different areas when germinating under multiple temperatures (Bhatt et al 2020). Chauhan et al (2006a) and Rahman and Asaduzzaman (2019) each used a single temperature regime to test salt and water stress, and germination of those populations at other temperatures is therefore unknown.…”