Evaluation of Germination and Antioxidant Activity in GA3-Primed Deteriorated Wheat Seed

Abstract

Seed aging or deterioration is considered as one of the seed capacity reducing factors and limiting seed germination, hence, realizing the effective physiological factors on seed deterioration is very important. In order to study the germination indices and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in wheat (Triticumaestivum L. cv. Pishtaz) seed as affected by accelerated seed aging and gibberellic acid (GA₃) priming, a laboratory experiment was conducted in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran, during 2017–2018. For this purpose, different levels of seed aging (100% relative humidity at 40°C for 4, 6 and 7 days, respectively) and GA₃-primed seeds (0, 25, 50 and 100 mg/L) were the first and second experimental factors, respectively. The results indicated that seed germination percentage and indices, superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase activities, vitamin E, glutathione and ascorbic acid contents were reduced with severe deterioration, compared with low deterioration, whereas, the mentioned traits were improved by increasing the levels of GA₃ seed priming. Overall, the results of this experiment suggest that the GA₃-primed seed can be an effective approach to improve the seed germination and seedling growth in wheat under aging conditions.