Exogenous antioxidants enhance seedling growth and yield of artificially aged cabbage and lettuce seeds
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MPDI
Abstract
Aged seeds exhibit compromised vigour in terms of germination, seedling emergence
and growth, but this can to some extent be alleviated by invigoration treatments before sowing.
This study aimed to investigate ageing rates and patterns in cabbage (Brassica oleraceae) and lettuce
(Lactuca sativa) seeds and whether the beneficial effects of invigorating aged seeds with exogenous
antioxidants translate to enhanced seedling performance. Seeds were artificially aged to 25% viability
before soaking in 0.4 mM glycerol, 0.6 mM GSH and 0.2 mM trolox for cabbage, and 0.6 mM
glycerol, GSH and trolox for lettuce; deionised water served as a control. After 14 days of sowing,
seedling emergence percentage, mean emergence time, mean daily emergence, and time taken to
25% emergence were computed. Seedling vigour index, root and shoot dry weight, root:shoot
ratio, leaf area, leaf area ratio, and leaf chlorophyll content were assessed 6 weeks after sowing.
Furthermore, the photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (E), and
chlorophyll fluorescence were measured 6 weeks after sowing. Notably, ageing resulted in the
loss of seed vigour and viability at higher rates in lettuce than cabbage. Seed pretreatment with
glycerol promoted seedling growth in both species and shoot dry weight in lettuce, while glycerol
and GSH enhanced Pn, Gs and E in lettuce.
Description
Keywords
Ageing rate, Photosynthesis, Seedling growth, Biodiversity, Farming
Citation
Adetunji, A. E. et al. (2021). Exogenous antioxidants enhance seedling growth and yield of artificially aged cabbage and lettuce seeds. Horticulturae, 7(9), 274. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7090274