The reaction of biochemical and germination traits of deteriorated wheat seeds to hydropriming

 The importance of wheat as a strategic product among other crops is that it has the largest cultivated area in the world and Iran. On the other hand, seed deterioration is a natural phenomenon in which seeds lose their viability and quality even under optimal storage conditions. In some crops, damage due to deterioration has been reported to be up to 50%. Part of this damage is related to the decrease in the speed and percentage of seed germination, which leads to a decrease in the plant density and the failure to achieve the desired density, especially in unfavorable conditions, resulting in crop yield decreases. In this experiment, the subject of the study was the ability of seed hydropriming to improve damage caused by the deterioration of wheat seeds (var. Alvand).

This experiment was carried out in the Laboratory of Seed Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, as a factorial in a completely randomized design with four replications. The seed used for the experiment was the Alvand variety. Wheat seeds deteriorated by accelerated aging method for 48 hours at 40 °C. Then, the deteriorated seeds were primed with distilled water at 20 °C for 4, 8 and 12 hours. The examined traits include germination percentage, mean germination time, germination rate, seedling length, electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde content, soluble sugars, soluble proteins, and activity of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and ascorbate peroxidase enzymes. 

The results showed that seed hydropriming in all three time periods used significantly improved the characteristics of germination percentage, germination rate, seedling length, antioxidant enzymes activity (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and ascorbate peroxidase), the soluble sugars and proteins of the seeds were found to deteriorate. Among the examined traits, the mean germination time, electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content of primed seeds decreased compared to non-primed seeds. Hydropriming for 4, 8, and 12 hours increased final germination to 15.9, 32.3, and 58.3 %, with germination rates of 7.7, 53.8, and 84.6 % compared to non-primed seeds, respectively. Regarding the activity of antioxidant enzymes, seed hydropriming at 4, 8, and 12 hours increased catalase activity by 12.4, 27.2, and 39.2%, superoxide dismutase activity by 15.9, 31.9, 35.4% and increased ascorbate peroxidase enzyme activity by 38.3, 40.4, and 44.9%, respectively, compared to non-primed.

Based on the results of this experiment, it can be concluded that the application of distilled water for 12 hours as the best priming time is recommended to recover the lost quality of deteriorated wheat seeds and improve the germination characteristics of the Alvand variety