Mitigation of Adverse Effects of Drought and Low Temperature Stresses by Seed Priming in Sunflower During Germination

Year 2025, Volume: 39 Issue: 1, 20 - 30, 31.03.2025

Pınar Harmancı , Nurgül Ergin , Engin Gökhan Kulan , Elif Yaman , Mehmet Demir Kaya

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the effects of seed priming on germination and seedling development in sunflower exposed to drought and low temperature stresses. The primed seeds (KNO3, and hydration) of Sanbro MR were evaluated at low temperatures of 15 °C and 18 °C under drought conditions induced by PEG-6000 at the water potentials of 0 (distilled water), −0.2, −0.4, and −0.6 MPa. Unprimed seeds were used as a control and a temperature of 25 °C was considered optimal. The results showed that germination was negatively affected by both stress factors, although this varies according to priming applications. Drought inhibited germination and seedling growth more than low temperatures. Seedling growth was also more adversely affected by low temperatures compared to germination. Under low temperatures, there was a 63% decrease in shoot length and a 59% decrease in root length. Drought stress resulted in an 85% reduction in shoot length, while roots were reduced by 65%. The primed seeds with KNO3 gave the highest germination percentage at -6 MPa at 15 °C. However, hydration showed superiority under different drought levels at 18 °C and 25 °C. It was concluded that hydrated seeds should be used for increased germination and seedling growth under low temperatures and drought stresses in sunflower.

Keywords

Helianthus annuus L., hydropriming, potassium nitrate, low temperature, drought

References

• Aboutalebian MA, Mohagheghi A, Niaz SA, Rouhi HR (2012). Influence of hydropriming on seed germination behavior of canola cultivars as affected by saline and drought stresses. Annals of Biological Research, 3(11): 5216-5222.
• Ahmad S, Ahmad R, Ashraf MY, Ashraf M, Waraich EA (2009). Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) response to drought stress at germination and seedling growth stages. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 41(2): 647-654.
• Akbari GA, Heshmati S, Soltani E, Amini Dehaghi M (2020). Influence of seed priming on seed yield, oil content and fatty acid composition of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) grown under water deficit. International Journal of Plant Production, 14: 245-258.
• Ali AS, Elozeiri AA (2017). Metabolic processes during seed germination. In Jimenz-Lopez JC (Eds), Advances in Seed Biology. InTech, pp. 141-166. Doi: 10.5772/intechopen.70653
• Aswathi KR, Kalaji HM, Puthur JT (2022). Seed priming of plants aiding in drought stress tolerance and faster recovery: a review. Plant Growth Regulation, 97(2): 235-253.
• Basit A, Ahmad M, Khan UA, Jabeen A, Durrani MU, Kiran R, Khalid A, Niaz M (2024). Evaluation of sunflower hybrids variability in response to drought stress: implications for oil and protein content optimization. Haya Saudi Journal of Life Science, 9(5): 188-193.
• Čanak P, Jocković M, Ćirić M, Mirosavljević M, Miklić V (2014). Effect of seed priming with various concentrations of KNO3 on sunflower seed germination parameters in in vitro drought conditions. Research on Crops, 15(1): 154-158.
• Chakraborty P, Dwivedi P (2021). Seed priming and its role in mitigating heat stress responses in crop plants. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 21(2): 1718-1734.
• Chaves MM, Maroco JP, Pereira JS (2003). Understanding plant responses to drought-from genes to the whole plant. Functional Plant Biology, 30(3): 239-264.
• Çokkizgin H, Bölek Y (2015). Priming treatments for improvement of germination and emergence of cotton seeds at low temperature. Plant Breeding and Seed Science, 71: 121-134.
• Doddagoudar SR, Nagaraja M, Lakshmikanth M, Srininvas AG, Shakuntala NM, Hiremath U, Mahanthshivayogayya K (2023). Improving the resilience of rice seedlings to low temperature stress through seed priming. South African Journal of Botany, 162: 183-192.
• Ergin N, Kulan E, Gözükara MA, Kaya MF, Çetin ŞÖ, Kaya MD (2021). Response of germination and seedling development of cotton to salinity under optimal and suboptimal temperatures. Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Tarım ve Doğa Dergisi, 24(1): 108-115.
• Fatemi SN 2014. Germination and seedling growth in primed seeds of sunflower under water stress. Annual Research & Review in Biology, 4(23): 3459-3469.
• Ghosh S, Bera K, Dutta P, Sadhukhan S (2024). Seed priming and seedling pre-treatment in regulating secondary metabolism for stress tolerance. In Roychoudhury A (Eds), Biology and Biotechnology of Environmental Stress Tolerance in Plants: Secondary Metabolites in Environmental Stress Tolerance. Apple Academic Press, pp. 263-304.
• Guan YJ, Hu J, Wang XJ, Shao CX (2009). Seed priming with chitosan improves maize germination and seedling growth in relation to physiological changes under low temperature stress. Journal of Zhejiang University Science B, 10: 427-433.
• Haj Sghaier A, Khaeim H, Tarnawa Á, Kovács GP, Gyuricza C, Kende Z (2023). Germination and seedling development responses of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seeds to temperature and different levels of water availability. Agriculture, 13(3): 608.
• Hamidi R, Pirasteh-Anosheh H (2013). Comparison effect of different seed priming methods on sunflower germination and seedling growth. International Journal of Agronomy and Plant Production, 4(6): 1247-1250.
• Harris D, Joshi A, Khan PA, Gothkar P, Sodhi PS (1999). On-farm seed priming in semi-arid agriculture: Development and evaluation in maize, rice and chickpea in India using participatory methods. Experimental Agriculture, 35(1): 15-29. Doi: 10.1017/S0014479799001027
• Heshmat O, Saeed HA, Fardin K (2011). The improvement of seed germination traits in canola (Brassica napus L.) as affected by saline and drought stress. Journal of Agricultural Technology, 7(3): 611-622.
• Hoppe A, Theimer RR (1997). Degradation of oil bodies isolated from cotyledons during germination of rapeseed seedlings. Journal of Plant Physiology, 151(4): 471-478.
• Hussain M, Farooq S, Hasan W, Ul-Allah S, Tanveer M, Farooq M, Nawaz A (2018). Drought stress in sunflower: Physiological effects and its management through breeding and agronomic alternatives. Agricultural Water Management, 201: 152-166.
• ISTA (2018). International Rules for Seed Testing. Bassersdorf, Switzerland: International Seed Testing Association.
• Janmohammadi M, Dezfuli PM, Sharifzadeh F (2008). Seed invigoration techniques to improve germination and early growth of inbred line of maize under salinity and drought stress. General and Applied Plant Physiology, 34(34): 215-226.
• Jiang F, Lv S, Zhang Z, Chen Q, Mai J, Wan X, Liu P (2023). Integrated metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis during seed germination of waxy corn under low temperature stress. BMC Plant Biology, 23(1): 190.
• Kaya MD, Bayramin S, Kaya G (2015). The effect of planting geometry and seed priming on sunflower yield under rain-fed conditions. Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 24(11c): 4095-4101.
• Kaya MD, Ergin N, Harmancı P, Kulan EG (2024). Seed priming as a method of preservation and restoration of sunflower seeds. Oilseeds and Fats, Crops and Lipids, 31: 4.
• Kaya MD, Kulan EG (2020). Effective seed priming methods improving germination and emergence of sugar beet under low-temperature stress. Sugar Tech, 22: 1086–1091. Doi:10.1007/s12355-020-00848-5
• Kaya MD, Okçu G, Atak M, Çıkılı Y, Kolsarıcı Ö (2006) Seed treatments to overcome salt and drought stress during germination in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). European Journal of Agronomy, 24: 291-295.
• Khan MB, Hussain M, Raza A, Farooq S, Jabran K (2015). Seed priming with CaCl2 and ridge planting for improved drought resistance in maize. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 39(2): 193-203.
• Michel BE, Kaufmann MR (1973). The osmotic potential of polyethylene glycol 6000. Plant Physiology, 51: 914-916.
• Moghanibashi M, Karimmojeni H, Nikneshan P, Behrozi D (2012). Effect of hydropriming on seed germination indices of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) under salt and drought conditions. Plant Knowledge Journal, 1(1): 10-15.
• Nezami A, Khazaei HR, Boroumand RZ, Hosseini A (2008). Effects of drought stress and defoliation on sunflower (Helianthus annuus) in controlled conditions. Desert, 12: 99-104.
• Pahoja VM, Siddiqui SH, Narejo MUN, Umrani JH (2013). Response of hydropriming and osmopriming on germination and seedling growth of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) under salt stress. International Journal of Agricultural Science and Research, 3(2): 71-80.
• Ping Y, Meng-Zhu X, Zhe Z, Xiao-Hong Z, Li-Yong HU, Zheng-Hua XU (2015). Cluster analysis for different rapeseed varieties on seed germination and seedling growth under low temperature stress. Research on Crops, 16(1): 68-77.
• Prayaga L, Sarada C, Lakshmamma P (2017). Seed priming for improving germination of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) at low temperature. Journal of Oilseeds Research, 34(2): 93-97
• Rahimi A (2013). Seed priming improves the germination performance of cumin (Cuminum syminum L.) under temperature and water stress. Industrial Crops and Products, 42: 454-460.
• Rehman ZU, Haq RU, Ullah S, Iqbal A, Khan AM, Assogba CMA, Awais M (2024). Enhancing growth and yield parameters of Sinapis alba through optimized seed priming techniques. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment, 7(1): e20466.
• Salehzade H, Shishvan MI, Ghiyasi M, Forouzin F, Siyahjani AA (2009). Effect of seed priming on germination and seedling growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 4: 629-631.
• Sintaha M, Man CK, Yung WS, Duan S, Li MW, Lam HM (2022). Drought stress priming improved the drought tolerance of soybean. Plants, 11(21): 2954.
• Sneha GR, Govindasamy V, Singh PK, Kumar S, Abraham G (2024). Priming of seeds with cyanobacteria improved tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during post-germinative drought stress. Journal of Applied Phycology, 1-14. Doi: 10.1007/s10811-023-03170-1
• Soleimanzadeh H (2012). Response of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) to selenium application under water stress. World Applied Science Journal, 17: 1115-1119.
• Szczerba A, Płażek A, Pastuszak J, Kopeć P, Hornyák M, Dubert F (2021). Effect of low temperature on germination, growth, and seed yield of four soybean (Glycine max L.) cultivars. Agronomy 11(4): 800.
• Tabassum T, Farooq M, Ahmad R, Zohaib A, Wahid A, Shahid M (2018). Terminal drought and seed priming improves drought tolerance in wheat. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 24: 845-856.
• TUİK (2024). Turkish Statistical Institute. https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/medas/?locale=tr (access date: 15.08.2024).
• Wen B (2015). Effects of high temperature and water stress on seed germination of the invasive species Mexican sunflower. Plos One 10: e0141567.
• Xia J, Hao X, Wang T, Li H, Shi X, Liu Y, Luo H (2023). Seed priming with gibberellin regulates the germination of cotton seeds under low-temperature conditions. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation 42(1): 319-334.
• Zhang C, Luo T, Liu J, Xian M, Yuan J, Hu L, Xu Z (2019). Evaluation of the low‐temperature tolerance of rapeseed genotypes at the germination and seedling emergence stages. Crop Science 59(4): 1709-1717.
• Zhu ZH, Sami A, Xu QQ, Wu LL, Zheng WY, Chen ZP, Jin XZ, Zhang H, Li Y, Yu Y, Zhou KJ (2021). Effects of seed priming treatments on the germination and development of two rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) varieties under the co-influence of low temperature and drought. Plos One 16(9): e0257236.