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. 2023 Jul 23;13(1):11884.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-38711-8.

Priming of Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoides seeds in seaweed extract improved seed germination, plant growth and performance under salinity conditions

Asmaa M Radwan  1 , Entesar A Ahmed  1 , Abdelraheim M Donia  2 , Abeer E Mustafa  1 , Mohamed A Balah  3
Affiliations

Priming of Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoides seeds in seaweed extract improved seed germination, plant growth and performance under salinity conditions

Asmaa M Radwan et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoide "Gurum" is an unconventional crop that can be utilized as a new source of edible oil and has the ability to grow in a variety of harsh conditions. To mitigate the adverse effects of salinity on seed germination and plant performance of C. lanatus, seeds were primed in the aqueous extracts of the seaweed Ulva lactuca before planting under greenhouse conditions. The aqueous extract of U. lactuca at 8% w/v led to maximal seed germination percentage and seedling growth of C. lanatus. Moreover, U. lactuca extract counteracted the negative effects of salt stress on the plant by significantly increasing the activity of SOD, CAT, and POD. The bioactive components of U. lactuca, e.g. glycine betaine and phenolic compounds can account for such beneficial role of algal extract on C. lanatus. Thus, priming of C. lanatus seeds in U. lactuca extract with various concentrations of U. lactuca extract can be employed as an effective practice for successful seed germination, improved plant growth and enhanced salt resistance, probably as a result of increased antioxidant enzymes activity and photosynthetic pigments.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of aqueous extract of U. lactuca (UL) on seed germination of C. lanatus. Each column value is the mean of three/five replications ± SE. Means with the same letter are non-significantly different (p < 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of aqueous extract of U. lactuca (UL) on growth of C. lanatus. (A) Shoot length, (B) root length, (C) number of branches, (D) leaf area. Each column value is the mean of three/five replications ± SE. Means with the same letter are non-significantly different (p < 0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a–c) Photosynthetic pigments (mg g−1 FW) of C. lanatus (UL) affected by different algal extract concentrations. Means with the same letter are not significantly different from each other (p 0.05 ANOVA).
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a–c) Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD) (µ mg−1 protein) of C. lanatus affected by different algal extract concentrations (UL). Means with the same letter are not significantly different from each other (p 0.05 ANOVA).
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