Scientific Reports (May 2021)

Application of vigor indexes to evaluate the cold tolerance in rice seeds germination conditioned in plant extract

  • Sheila Bigolin Teixeira,
  • Stefânia Nunes Pires,
  • Gabriele Espinel Ávila,
  • Bruna Evelyn Paschoal Silva,
  • Victoria Novo Schmitz,
  • Cristiane Deuner,
  • Rodrigo da Silva Armesto,
  • Diogo da Silva Moura,
  • Sidnei Deuner

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90487-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Rice is a crop that presents sensitivity to cold, especially in the germination phase, which leads to high economic losses. Alternative management forms are essential to increase tolerance to low temperatures, and seed priming represents a promising tool. The objective of this study was to investigate the priming effect of the aqueous extract of carrot roots on rice seeds to increase tolerance to low temperatures during germination. Seeds from cultivars BRS Querência (cold-susceptible) and Brilhante (cold-tolerant) were soaked for 24 h in concentrations of 0, 25, 50, and 100% carrot extract, sown on germitest paper and conditioned in BOD for 21 days at 15 °C. As a control, the seeds soaked in water were also germinated at 25 °C. They were evaluated for germination, first germination count, and germination speed index to calculate the stress indices: tolerance index, susceptibility index, and harmonic mean. They were also evaluated for the length and dry mass of shoot and root. The results showed that the rice seeds conditioning in carrot extract effectively reduces the damage caused by cold, significantly increasing the germination speed and the percentage of final germination and the growth evaluations, more expressive at 100% concentration. The stress indexes are efficient in estimating the tolerance of the cultivars and the effect of the different conditions in low-temperature conditions, highlighting the superiority of the Brilhante cultivar.