Reza Rezvani; Behnam Kamkar; Zeinab Jabbari Badkhor
Abstract
To mitigate the detrimental effects of salinity stress on vegetable crops, various approaches, including the applying of organic inputs during different growth stages, such as germination, are employed. This study, conducted in 2023, aimed to assess the influence of humic acid pretreatment on the germination ...
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To mitigate the detrimental effects of salinity stress on vegetable crops, various approaches, including the applying of organic inputs during different growth stages, such as germination, are employed. This study, conducted in 2023, aimed to assess the influence of humic acid pretreatment on the germination characteristics and growth parameters of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) under salt stress. Two experiments, one in the laboratory and the other in a greenhouse, were carried out using a factorial design based on a completely randomized design with three replications. The experimental factors included humic acid priming at four concentrations (0, 50, 100, and 200 mg/l-1) and salinity at five levels (0, 25, 50, 100, and 150 mM NaCl). Results indicated that humic acid exerted a positive impact on various germination and growth attributes of cucumber, including germination percentage, germination rate, seedling length, dry weight, vigor index, and chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoid under salt-stressed conditions compared to the control. The treatment with 200 mmol/l humic acid and no salt exhibited the highest germination rate (87%) and seedling length (12.66 cm). The interaction between salinity and humic acid revealed that humic acid concentrations exceeding 100 mg/l-1 could alleviate the adverse effects of salinity stress on total chlorophyll. In conclusion, the cost-effective and easily applicable method of priming cucumber seeds with humic acid presents a potential strategy to mitigate the impacts of salinity stress in regions with saline water or soil.
Azam Khaleghi; Alireza Dadkhah; Reza Rezvani
Abstract
This research was conducted in order to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of different organs of Artemisia aucheri on the growth and germination traits of Brassica napus and Goldbachia laevigata in two separate experiments including the laboratory and the greenhouse conditions, respectively. ...
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This research was conducted in order to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of different organs of Artemisia aucheri on the growth and germination traits of Brassica napus and Goldbachia laevigata in two separate experiments including the laboratory and the greenhouse conditions, respectively. The experiments were exerted based on a completely randomized design with three replications and randomized complete block design with four replications, respectively. The test treatments included aqueous extracts of Artemisia in concentrations of 5, 10 and 15% of roots, 5, 10 and 15% of aerial organs and control (distilled water). The results showed that with increasing extract concentration, the germination and growth traits and total chlorophyll of both investigated plants significantly decreased. In such a way that the highest and lowest inhibition rates were associated with 15% root extract and 5% aerial organs extract, respectively. The level of 15% Artemisia root extract in Brassica decreased the germination percentage by 37.1% and in Goldbachia by 48.5% compared to the control. Increasing of extract concentration from zero to 15% of arial parts decreased stem length decreased by 30.3% in Brassica and 56.3% in Goldbachia compared to the control. Most of the examined traits in Goldbachia weed, were more sensitive to the allelopathic effects of Artemisia extract compared to Brassica. in general, root extract of Artemisia were more capable of dealing with germination and seedling growth than the aerial organs. Therefore, 15% aqueous extract of Artemisia root can be suggested to reduce the growth and weakening of the weed Goldbachia.
