Abstract
Soil salinity is one of the most serious agricultural problems. There are many biological strategies by which salinity tolerance of potential crops can be increased. The ameliorative efficiency of salt priming on emergence and seedling growth was examined in black seed (Nigella sativa), a valuable medicinal herb. The seeds were soaked for 24 h at 25°C in the dark in distilled water (control) or 1 or 2% of KNO3, CaCl2, NaCl, ZnSO4, or CuSO4. After the all treatments, the seeds were washed with distilled water and sown. Although all priming agents were effective in alleviating adverse effects of salt stress on black seed at germination stage, NaCl proved to be the most effective since the seeds primed with this salt had significantly higher germination performance than those treated with other salts or distilled water. Next to NaCl, KNO3, CaCl2, and ZnSO4 were also effective in promoting seed germination and early growth under saline conditions.
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Gholami, M., Mokhtarian, F. & Baninasab, B. Seed halopriming improves the germination performance of black seed (Nigella sativa) under salinity stress conditions. J. Crop Sci. Biotechnol. 18, 21–26 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12892-014-0078-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12892-014-0078-1