The Effect of Salicylic Acid and Polyetylene Glycol on Wheat Germination

Abstract

The present paper analyses the effect of pre-treatment with salicylic acid (SA) on germination and the growth of winter wheat seedlings in water stress conditions induced by polyetylene glycol (PEG). A two-factor experiment was conducted in a completely randomized projection. The first factor (A) included three levels: a1- distilled water - control; a2 - 0.25 mM SA; a3 - 0.75 mM SA and the second factor (B) included three levels: b1- distilled water; b2 - 15% PEG and b3 - 25% PEG. Biological material was represented by a DH winter wheat line. It were made observations on germination percentage (GP), root length (RL), cotyledons length (CL), seedling fresh weight (SFW) and vigor index (VI). After the analysis of the obtained results it can appreciate that the 25% PEG concentration played the main role for the significant decrease of the germination percentage (GP) and vigor index (VI). Also, seeds pre-treatment with 0.75 mM SA could be a way to improve germination characteristics in drought conditions.

Keywords

• salicylic acid, PEG solution, germination, drought stress