Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Associate Professor, Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.
2 Ph.D student, Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.
10.22092/ijsst.2025.369124.1559
Abstract
Plants are highly vulnerable to diseases and environmental stresses during germination because germination is the most critical stage of their life cycle (Tuğ & Yaprak, 2019). Microplastics (MPs) are often used in agricultural ecosystems as plastic mulch or greenhouse cover. Therefore, there is a possibility of their excessive accumulation in the soil, which greatly affects seed germination (De Silva et al., 2022). On the other hand, lead (Pb) contamination disrupts germination and early growth stages, thus harming the physiology and morphology of seeds (Seneviratne et al., 2019).Experiments were conducted as factorials based on a completely randomized design with three replications. The desired solutions were prepared by calculating the amount of Pb, and PVC-MP by five concentrations of Pb (0, 250, 500, 750, and 1000 μM) and five concentrations of PVC-MP (0, 1, 2, 4, and 6% w/w). Three replicates of foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) seeds were disinfected with a 2% sodium hypochlorite solution and washed with distilled water. This study showed that foxtail millet seeds were able to germinate under conditions of Pb toxicity up to 1000 μM, but the germination percentage and root tolerance index were significantly reduced. This indicates the tolerance of foxtail millet seeds to Pb stress. Despite environmental concerns regarding MP contamination, the results show that the presence of PVC in the culture medium, even at low concentrations, has a positive effect on seed germination under Pb toxicity.
Keywords
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