Seed priming with different agents mitigate alkalinity induced oxidative damage and improves maize growth

Abstract

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.

Priming-mediated triggering of antioxidative response to induce drought tolerance in Maize (Zea mays L.)

“…6). The above results are as per the findings of (33), who reported that the maximum stability in the membrane and the synthesis of the least amount of MDA along with the accumulation of osmolytes (proline content) and catalase activity in priming treatments reform the damage of morphological as well as biochemical to overcome from drought conditions (34,35). Furthermore, analysis of the correlation coefficient of studied parameters also provides a glimpse of the positive and negative relationships with priming treatments for drought tolerance (Table 2).…”

The Critical Role of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi to Improve Drought Tolerance and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Crops

“…Drought stress also disturbs electron transport and decreases the pool size of electron acceptors ( Feng and Cao, 2005 ; Azzeme et al, 2016 ), also leading to marked reduction in photosynthesis. Drought-induced ROS also damage membrane integrity and cause oxidation of proteins, DNA, nucleic acid, lipids, and carbohydrates ( Sabra et al, 2012 ; Dossa et al, 2017 ; Hassan et al, 2019 , 2021 ; Bao et al, 2020 ; Jinhu et al, 2022 ; Khan et al, 2022a , b ). However, plants accumulate different osmolytes to counter the effects of DS.…”

Effect of salinity stress and surfactant treatment with zinc and boron on morpho-physiological and biochemical indices of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum)

“…Salt stress is global issue which affects about 20% of agricultural area and reduce crop yield [ 10 ]. Among the many salts found in the soil, NaCl is the most common [ 10 , 11 ].…”