Germination of Triticum aestivum L.: Effects of Soil–Seed Interaction on the Growth of Seedlings

Abstract

Seed size, sowing depth, and seed disinfection can affect seed germination and seedling establishment, which, in turn, can directly affect crop growth and yield. The current study was comprised of two experiments, the first of which was conducted in the laboratory, and a second which was performed under glasshouse conditions. The objective of these experiments was to investigate the effects of seed size, sowing depth, and seed disinfection on seed germination and initial seedling growth of selected wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars. The treatments in laboratory experiment were arranged in a completely randomized design, which included: (Ι) four wheat cultivars (Pishgam, Haydari, Soissons, and Mihan), (ΙΙ) two seed size classes (x < 2.25 mm, and x > 2.25 mm), and two disinfection treatments (no-disinfection and disinfection), (ΙΙΙ) with five replicates. In addition to the aforementioned treatments, the effect of planting depth (4, 6, and 8 cm) was also investigated in the subsequent glasshouse experiment. The best results were obtained at a sowing depth of 4 cm, in the non-disinfected treatment, using large seeds. In contrast, the lowest percentage and speed of seed germination and vigor index were observed in seeds sown at 8 cm depth, in the disinfected seed treatment, using small seeds. Large seeds contain larger nutrient stores which may improve seed germination indices, which would therefore result in improved percentage and speed of seed germination, followed by faster coleoptile and seedling growth, higher seedling dry weight and seed vigor. These data also illustrated that seed disinfection in the Pishgam and Haydari cultivars had inhibitory effects upon coleoptile growth and seedling length, which could be related to the fungicide’s chemical composition. Unlike other cultivars, disinfection did not show a significant effect on the Soissons cultivar. Based on our data, in order to improve both the speed of wheat seed germination and subsequent plant growth and development; it is necessary to select high-quality, large seeds, planted at a specific planting depth, which have been treated with an effective disinfectant; all of which will be specific for the wheat cultivar in question. Overall, the current study has provided useful information on the effect size seed, sowing depth, and disinfection have upon germination characteristics and seedling growth of wheat cultivars, which can form the basis for future field scale trails.

Biochemical and Botanical Aspects of Allium sativum L. Sowing

“…On the contrary, the phosphorus content in both years is optimal, around 20 mg/kg in 2015/16, and 17 mg/kg in 2016/17. This nitrogen deficiency in the two years may negatively affect the yield of Allium cultivars, despite the availability of other nutrients in the soil as already reported by other authors [14,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]. Subsequently, the processes of germination, development, and yield of the Allium cultivars are evaluated.…”

Effect of Temperature, Seed Size, Sowing Depth, and Position on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Bauhinia retusa Roxb. and Bauhinia variegata L.

“…The improvement in the germination rate of forest species for production purposes is more crucial keeping allowance for the fact that forest tree seeds are less available commercially, are difficult to procure, and have low rates of germina-tion [66][67][68]. Therefore, the initial step toward addressing these problems is to improve our knowledge and understanding of the major factors which affect seed germination and seedling growth [69]. However, the present study investigated the effects of temperature, seed size, and sowing position on germination and seedling growth of B. retusa and B.. seeds, as well as the effects of storage containers on seed viability with the aim to provide assistance for quality seedling production.…”

Effect of rhizosphere bacteria on antioxidant enzymes and some biochemical characteristics of Medicago sativa L. subjected to herbicide stress

“…Leaf tissue (200) mg was homogenized in 2 ml TCA solution (0.1% w:v) and the homogenate was centrifuged at 4 °C and 10,000 g for 10 min; 0.5 ml of the supernatant was mixed with 0.5 ml potassium phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 7.0) and 1 ml KI (1 M) and kept for 1 h at room temperature in a dark place. The adsorption was recorded at 390 nm (Chaichi et al 2022).…”