Efficiency of seed vigor tests in estimating Melissa officinalis L. seedling emergence in soil and the effects of iron oxide nanoparticles on the seedling’s physiological properties

Subject Areas : Stress Physiology

Hamidreza Eisvand ¹ (Department of Agrotechnology, Lorestan University)
Zeinab Farajollahi ² (Department of Plant Production and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.)
Dariush Goodarzi ³ (Department of Plant Production and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.)
Elham Jahangirinia ⁴ (Department of Plant Production and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran)
Donald L. Smith ⁵ (Department of Plant Science, McGill University)

Received: 2023-11-20 Accepted : 2024-03-06 Published : 2024-08-05

Keywords: Hiltner test, Nano fertilizer, Plant nutrition, Seed vigor, Soil texture,

Abstract :

This study was conducted on Melissa officinalis (lemon balm) to compare the effects of seed vigor tests, under laboratory conditions, on seedling emergence from soil (greenhouse) and to study the effects of foliar application of iron oxide nanoparticles (ION) on growth variables and physiological performance of Melissa officinalis seedlings. Seed vigor tests were conducted on seeds of three sizes (large, medium, and small) in the laboratory. These tests included standard germination, accelerated aging, cold, Hiltner, and electrical conductivity (EC). Seeds of three sizes were planted in two different soil types, namely loam and clay loam, in a greenhouse. At the two-node stage, foliar applications of iron oxide nanoparticles (control, 15, and 30 ppm) were also made. The Hiltner test best predicted seedling emergence form the soil, whereas the other tests showed no significant predictive power. The findings indicated that the combined treatment of large seeds plus clay loam soil plus application of 30 ppm ION produced the highest seedling height, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b levels, soluble sugars content, essential oil percentage, and gas exchange, while the combined treatment of small seed + loam soil + no foliar ION application resulted in the lowest levels of these variables. Loam soil with small seeds and no foliar ION spray increased proline concentration and antioxidant enzyme activity. Results of soil texture analysis and Hiltner seed vigor test were found crucial for farmers who cultivate Melissa officinalis L. Finally, ION foliar spraying is suggested for better physiological performance and yield of this plant.

References:

Awad, R., A. Muhammad, T. Durst, V. L. Trudeau, and J. T. Arnason. 2009. Bioassay‐guided fractionation of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) using an in vitro measure of GABA transaminase activity. Phytotherapy Research: An International Journal Devoted to Pharmacological and Toxicological Evaluation of Natural Product Derivatives. 23:1075-1081.
Badawi, G.H., Y. Yamauchi, E. Shimada, R. Sasaki, N. Kawano, and K. Tanaka. 2004. Enhanced tolerance to salt stress and water deficit by overexpressing superoxide dismutase in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) chloroplasts. Plant Science. 166:919-928.
Baskin, C.C., and J. M. Baskin. 2004. Germinating seeds of wildflowers, an ecological perspective. Hort Technology. 14:467-473.
Batlla, D., and R. L. Benech-Arnold. 2007. Predicting changes in dormancy level in weed seed soil banks: implications for weed management. Crop Protection. 26:189-197.
Bradford, M. M. 1976. A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Analytical biochemistry. 72:248-254.
Benvenuti, S., and M. Mazzoncini. 2021. “Active” Weed Seed Bank: Soil Texture and Seed Weight as Key Factors of Burial-Depth Inhibition. Agronomy. 11:210.
Chimungu, J.G., K. W. Loades, and J. P. Lynch. 2015. Root anatomical phenes predict root penetration ability and biomechanical properties in maize (Zea mays). Journal of Experimental Botany. 66:3151-3162.
Descalzi, C., O. Balocchi, I. López, P. Kemp, and J. Dörner. 2018. Different soil structure and water conditions affect the growing response of Lolium perenne L. and Bromus valdivianus Phil. growing alone or in mixture. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition. 18:617-635.
Eisvand, H. R., and Z. Farajollahi. 2017. Study of seed storability and seed physiological quality of two ecotypes of sage (Salvia officinalis) using AA test. Journal of Plant Production Research. 24:147-151.
Elemike, E.E., I. M. Uzoh, D. C. Onwudiwe, and O. O. Babalola. 2019. The role of nanotechnology in the fortification of plant nutrients and improvement of crop production. Applied Sciences. 9:499.
Farhoudi, R., A. Modhej, and M. Motamedi. 2020. Evalution of Arctium lappa seed dormancy breaking methods. Iranian Journal of Seed Sciences and Research. 7:505-517.
Gonzalez‐Andujar, J.L., G. R. Chantre, C. Morvillo, A. M. Blanco, and F. Forcella. 2016. Predicting field weed emergence with empirical models and soft computing techniques. Weed Research. 56:415-423.
Hassan, F. A., and M. M. Hassan. 2018. The Use of Seed Vigour Tests for Predicting Field Emergence. International Journal of Applied Science. 1:p93-p93.
Hampton, J.G., and D. M. Tekrony. 1995. Handbook of vigour test methods. The International Seed Testing Association, Zurich (Switzerland).
Havir, E.A., and N. A. McHale. 1987. Biochemical and developmental characterization of multiple forms of catalase in tobacco leaves. Plant Physiology. 84:450-455.
Holm, R. E. 1972. Volatile metabolites controlling germination in buried weed seeds. Plant Physiology. 50:293-297.
Irigoyen, J., D. Einerich, and M. Sánchez‐Díaz. 1992. Water stress induced changes in concentrations of proline and total soluble sugars in nodulated alfalfa (Medicago sativa) plants. Physiologia Plantarum. 84:55-60.
ISTA. 2009. International Rules for Seed Testing. Seed Science and Technology. (Supplement), 27:1-3.
Javanmard, A., M. Ashrafi, M. R. Morshedloo, M. A. Machiani, and F. Rasouli Maggi. 2022. Optimizing phytochemical and physiological characteristics of Balangu (Lallemantia iberica) by foliar application of chitosan nanoparticles and Myco-Root inoculation under water supply restrictions. Horticulturae. 8:695.
Jha, Y., and H. I. Mohamed. 2023. Inoculation with Lysinibacillus fusiformis strain YJ4 and Lysinibacillus sphaericus strain YJ5 alleviates the effects of cold stress in maize plants. Gesunde Pflanzen. 75:77-95.
Kapoor, R., B. Giri, and K. G. Mukerji. 2002. Mycorrhization of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) to enhance the concentration and quality of essential oil. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 82(4):339-342
Karamian Hasan Abadi, Z., H. R. Eisvand, M. Daneshvar, and O. Akbarpour. 2021. Study the effect of drought stress and iron oxide nanoparticle foliar application on quantitative and qualitative traits of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). Environmental Stresses in Crop Sciences. 14:375-386.
Lichtenthaler, H. K. 1987. Chlorophylls and carotenoids: pigments of photosynthetic biomembranes. Methods in Enzymology. 148:350-382. https://doi.org/10.1016/0076-6879(87)48036-1.
Lipiec, J., C. Doussan, A. Nosalewicz, and K. Kondracka. 2013. Effect of drought and heat stresses on plant growth and yield: a review. International Agrophysics. 27.
Mahmoud, A.W.M., A. A. Ayad, H. S. Abdel-Aziz, L. L. Williams, R. M. El-Shazoly, A. Abdel-Wahab, and E. A. Abdeldaym. 2022. Foliar application of different iron sources improves morpho-physiological traits and nutritional quality of broad bean grown in sandy soil. Plants. 11:2599.
Marin, M., G. Laverack, A. A. Powell, and S. Matthews. 2018. Potential of the electrical conductivity of seed soak water and early counts of radicle emergence to assess seed quality in some native species. Seed Science and Technology. 46:71-86.
Mimmo, T., D. Del Buono, R. Terzano, N. Tomasi, G. Vigani, C. Crecchio, R. Pinton, G. Zocchi, and S. Cesco. 2014. Rhizospheric organic compounds in the soil–microorganism–plant system: their role in iron availability. European Journal of Soil Science. 65:629-649.
Morales, F., R. Grasa, A. Abadía, and J. Abadía. 1998. Iron chlorosis paradox in fruit trees. Journal of Plant Nutrition. 21:815-825.
Marschner, P., D. Crowley, and Z. Rengel. 2011. Rhizosphere interactions between microorganisms and plants govern iron and phosphorus acquisition along the root axis–model and research methods. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 43:883-894.
Paquin, R., and P. Lechasseur. 1979. Studies of a method for the determination of free proline content in plant extracts. Canadian Journal of Botany.
Powell, A., S. Matthews, and M. D. A. Oliveira. 1984. Seed quality in grain legumes.https://pascalfrancis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=search&lang=en&terms=%22POWELL%2C+A.+A%22&index=au
Yudharaj, P., M. Shankar, R. Sowjanya, B. Sireesha, E. A. Naik, and R. J. Priyadarshini. 2016. Importance and uses of medicinal plants–An overview. International Journal of Preclinical and Pharmaceutical Research. 7:67-73.
Zhang, J., and B. Ghanem. 2018. ISTA-Net: Interpretable optimization-inspired deep network for image compressive sensing. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition. 1828-1837.