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Investigation of seed priming on some germination aspects of different canola

cultivars

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Meri-Rastilantie 3 B, FI-00980 Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment Vol.6(2) : 188-191. 2008 www.world-food.net
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Investigation of seed priming on some germination aspects of different canola

cultivars
Mahmood Reza Saeidi 1, A. Abdolghaium 1, Mohammad Hassanzadeh 1 *, Asal Rouhi 2

and Parisa Nikzad 2

1
Dept. of Crop Production and Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran. 2 Dept. of
Crop Production and Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Urmia, Iran.*e-mail: moh_hasan_1355@yahoo.com

Received 11 January 2008, accepted 2 April 2008.

Abstract
In the priming, the seeds absorb water under controlled conditions without appearance of radicles but germination activities, such as activation of
hormones, enzymes and solubility of seed restore matters, begin. Then, the seeds are dried to store. To investigate the seed priming on five canola
cultivars, a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design was carried out in 2007 with three replications at the Laboratory of Agricultural
Faculty, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran. Cultivars were Rigent–Cobra, Ocapi, Opera, SLM046 and RJS003. The first factor (A)
was cultivar, the second was (B) priming treatment (distilled water, 2% KCl, 4% KCl, 1% KH2PO4, 5% KH2PO4) and the third factor (C) was
priming time (12, 24 and 36 hours). Results showed that, ‘RJS003’ had the least and ‘Opera’ the most GMT. Priming with 1% KH2PO4, 2% KCl,
4% KCl and 5% KH2PO4 increased the time at which 50 percent germination achieved. RJS003 and Opera cultivars had the highest and the lowest
germination rate compared to the other three cultivars, respectively. The seeds that were under priming with distilled water, had the highest root
length of 31.04 mm. Opera cultivar had the highest stem length of 56.2 mm. Priming with 1% KH2PO4 had the highest effect on root dry weight.
Between these cultivars, RJS003 had the highest root dry weight and Opera the highest stem dry weight. It seems that priming with different
solutions, with increasing the mean stem and root dry weight or mean germination rate (in this work) at suitable priming times, can cause better and
faster seedling establishment in the early season and thus can improve the plant tolerance against unfavorable environmental conditions.

Key words: Canola, priming, germination.

Introduction
Oil seeds are known as one of the best protein and energy sources.
Canola (Brassica napus L.) is an annual plant from Brassica family.
The last released cultivars by FAO in 1999 showed that the most
important oil sources in the world are soybean, oil palm and canola,
respectively. At present, China and Canada are the greatest canola
producers in the world 9, 12, 14-16, 20. Further more, increasingly
demand for canola oil and agricultural variation have increased its
cultivation in soils with salinity susceptibility 6. Canola (Brassica
napus L.) is the modified genetical form of wild rocket with low
erosic acid content, a 22-carbon chain used for various polymer
and oil productions. The use of canola between other oils is
continuously increased because of its low saturated fatty acid
content and effectiveness in human health. In the seed priming,
the seeds absorb water under controlled conditions without
appearance of radicles, but germination activities such as
hormones and enzymes activation and solubility of seed restore
matters, begin. Then, the seeds are dried to prepare them for
planting 3, 8. Priming accelerates the germination rate in the field
especially under unfavorable conditions such as low temperature
and humidity and also reduces the physiological non-uniformity
in the seed bulk 21. Other synonyms for priming are: liquid priming,
priming, osmo priming and osmo conditioning 13. In the seed
washing procedure, the seeds are washed only for few hours
before sowing. The seeds need oxygen, water and optimum
temperature for germination. Water absorption has a triphasic
pattern: rapid water absorption (imbibition), delay phase (reduction
of water absorption) and re-increase of water absorption that
accompanies with seedling growth 4, 5. In the first and second
phases, the seed resists against dehydration but this resistance
disappears in Phase 3. In the priming technique, the seeds controlly
absorb water until Phase 3. Seed treatments of many of agricultural
plants with mineral and non-mineral compounds such as gibberellic
acids, cytokinins, nitrate, potassium phosphate, sodium chloride,
potassium chloride and calcium chloride, increase the germination
ability in saline conditions 1. Furthermore, Tajbakhsh 23 concluded
that barley seed soaking in 25 ppm of calcium chloride significantly
increased the grain yield and number of tillers. Some researchers
showed that seed soaking in solutions such as magnesium
sulphate, increased wheat, corn and cotton yield. Also, corn seed
priming with different solutions before planting increased the yield
about 526 kg/ha 23.
Materials and Methods
In order to investigate the effect of seed priming on five canola
cultivars, this study was carried out in 2007 in Central Laboratory
of Agricultural Faculty, Mohaghegh Ardabili University, as a
factorial experiment in completely randomized design with three
replications. In this study, Factor A was canola cultivar (Rigent–

188 Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.6 (2), April 2008
Cobra, Ocapi, Opera, SLM046 and RJS003), Factor B was priming
treatment (distilled water (control), 2% KCl, 4% KCl, 5% KH2PO4
and 1% KH2PO4) and Factor C was priming time (12, 24 and 36
hours). This experiment was done in incubator of 20ºC. Fifty
uniform seeds of each cultivar were selected 10, sterilized and placed
in sterilized Petri dishes with two Whatman No. 1 filter papers.
Five ml of priming solution was added to each Petri dish by a
pipette and then these Petri dishes were placed into the incubator
of 20oC for 12, 24 and 36 hours. Weight proportion was used to
preparation of solutions (priming levels). For example, to prepare
2% KCl, 2 grams of KCl was added into 100°C distilled water. After
these treatments, the seeds were washed with distilled water, dried
and transferred to another Petri dish. Germinated seeds were
counted. After 7 days of seed priming, 10 seeds randomly were
selected from each Petri dish and their root and stem length were
measured. Roots of more than 2 mm long were measured. Then,
roots and stems were washed with distilled water and dried in
oven at 70oC for 48 hours. Some parameters such as average root
dry weight, average stem dry weight, average stem length and
average root length were measured. Average germination rate or
growth rate (GR) was calculated according the following formula24:
GR=N1/D1+N2/D2+…+Nn/Dn, where N1 = number of germinated
seeds in the first day, Nn = number of germinated seeds in final
day, D1 = the first day of counting, Dn = final day of counting.
Average germination time or time at which 50 percent seeds
germinate 24 was calculated as follows: T50=ti+[(N+1)×2-ni×nj-
ni]×(tj-ti), where T50= the time at which 50 percent of seeds germinate
(as a day), N = total germinated seeds at the end of experiment, ni
and nj = number of germinated seeds in ti and tj days. SAS and
EXCEL softwares were used to statistical calculations and drawing
of graphs, respectively.
Results
Mean germination time: Between cultivars, RJS003 had the least
and Opera the longest GMT (Table 1). Treatments with 1%
KH2PO4, 2% KCl, 4% KCl and 5% KH2PO4 reduced GMT after
distilled water, respectively (Table 2). Results showed that 36 hr
seed soaking had the highest effect on GMT. It means that the
required time to germination of 50 percent seeds was reduced
(Table 3). Two other soaking times namely 12 and 24 hr had the
same effect on GMT. Two-way time × priming (p<0.01) and priming
× cultivar (p<0.05) interactions were significant in GMT (Figs 1
and 2).
Mean germination rate: RJS003 and Opera cultivars had the
highest and least germination rate compared to other three
cultivars (Table 1). Priming solutions significantly differed to each
other, distilled water had the best effect on GR and 1% KH2PO4
had a significant effect, too (Table 2). The least effect was
concerned to 5% KH2PO4. Seed soaking for 36 hr had a significant

Table 1. Effects of cultivar priming on mean germination rate (1/day), mean germination time
(day), mean stem dry weight (mg), mean root dry weight (mg) and mean stem length
(mm) of canola cultivars.
Mean Mean Mean root
Mean stem
germination germination Mean stem dry dry weight
Cultivar length
rate time weight (mg) (mg)
(mm)
(1/day) (day)
Rigent-cobra 0.44b 2.49b 0.027b 51.83b 0.0038b
Ocapi 0.45b 2.39b 0.024c 49.70b 0.0030b
Opera 0.36c 2.96a 0.04a 56.20a 0.0032b
SLM046 0.46b 2.36b 0.024b 51.34b 0.0035b
RJS003 0.6a 1.81c 0.024c 48.91b 0.0040a

Table 2. Effects of priming solution on mean germination rate (1/day), mean germination
time (day), mean root length (mm), mean stem length (mm), mean root dry weight
(mg) and mean stem dry weight (mg) of different canola cultivars.
Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean
germination germination root stem root dry stem dry
Priming solution length length
rate time weight weight
(1/day) (day) (mm) (mm) (mg) (mg)
Distilled water 0.64a 1.73e 31.04a 51.22a 0.0038ab 0.027c
2% KCl 0.43c 2.44c 25.97b 52.16a 0.0032b 0.027bc
4% KCl 0.39cd 2.64b 25.94b 52.86a 0.0034ab 0.029a
5% KH2PO4 0.36d 2.99a 25.57b 50.11a 0.0032b 0.029ab
1%KH2PO4 0.48b 2.22d 29.41ab 51.62a 0.0039a 0.028abc

Table 3. Effects of priming time on mean germination rate (1/day), mean germination time
(day), mean root length (mm), mean stem length (mm), mean root dry weight
(mg) and mean stem dry weight (mg) of different canola cultivars.
Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean root Mean
Priming germination germination root stem dry weight stem dry
time (hr) rate time length length (mg) weight
(1/day) (day) (mm) (mm) (mg)
12 0.45b 2.37b 28.59a 51.4a 0.0033a 0.028a
24 0.41c 2.59a 26.95a 51.54a 0.0035a 0.029a
36 0.52a 2.25b 27.22a 51.85a 0.0037a 0.028a

Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.6 (2), April 2008 189
 meangermination time(day)
12 hours 24 hours 36 hours effect on mean germination rate (GR) and the best effect was
concerned to this time, and 12 and 24 hr had the least effect on GR,
3.5 respectively (Table 3). So, the 36 hr seed soaking was obtained as
3 a suitable time for priming. Time×priming interaction (p<0.01) was
2.5 very significant (Fig. 3).
2
1.5
1
Mean root and stem length: Mean root length was highest when
0.5
priming solution was distilled water (31.04 mm) and 1% KH2PO4
0 (29.41 mm), but the other treatments caused no large differences
distilled %2 KCL %4 KCL %5 KH2PO4 %1 KH2PO4
water (Table 2). Cultivar and priming time did not have significant effect
priming levels on root length (Fig. 4). On the contrary, cultivars (Rigent-Cobra,
Ocapi, Opera, SLM 046 and RJS003) were significantly different in
Figure 1. Effect of priming solution and time on mean germination
time of canola.
stem length (Table 1). ‘Opera’ had the longest stem of 56.2 mm,
while other four cultivars were not significantly different.
Treatment with 4% KCl gave the longest stem of 52.86 mm, but
Rigent-cobra ocapi opera there was no significant difference among the solutions (Table 2).
meangermination time(day)

RJS003 SLM046
Priming times (12, 24 and 36 hr) showed nearly the same effect, too
4.5 (Table 3). We can see that existing differences between cultivars
4
3.5 in stem length are less than root length differences (Table 1). In
3 the other hand, the range of changes in cultivar’s stem length is
2.5
2
more regular than in the root length. It seems that stem is more
1.5 affected by seed priming.
1
0.5
0 Mean root and stem dry weight: RJS003 cultivar had the highest
distilled water %2 KCL %4 KCL %5 KH2PO4 %1 KH2PO4 root dry weight of 0.004 mg (P<0.01) (Table 1). Distilled water
priming levels caused 0.0038 mg dry weight and after it, 4% KCl made 0.0034 mg
Figure 2. Effect of priming solution and cultivar on mean dry weight (Table 2). Two other treatments did not show significant
germination time of canola. differences. Mean stem dry weight in 4% KCl and 5% KH2PO4
treatments was highest (0.029 mg) and thereafter, 1% KH2PO4
caused 0.028 mg stem dry weight (Table 2).
12 hours 24 hours 36 hours
Discussion
meangermination rate(1/day)

0.9 In the priming with distilled water, germination metabolic activities

0.8 are stimulated and reach a point that resulted balance, improves
0.7 germination rate and uniformity of plant growth, stimulates
0.6
germination under different environmental conditions and
0.5
0.4 enhances seed vigor and seedling growth 7. It seems that increasing
0.3 in germination rate under presoaking treatments is the reason that
0.2 during this act, seed metabolic reactions begin and simple sugars
0.1 are used to making protein substances, immediately 19. Basra
0 et al. 2 found that maize seed priming with PEG or potassium salts
distilled %2 KCL %4 KCL %5 KH2PO4 %1 KH2PO4
water
(KCl, KH2PO4, KNO3) accelerates the germination in cold
priming levels conditions. Varier and Yaduraju 25 reported that leek seed
Figure 3. Effect of priming solution and time on mean germination osmopriming and hydropriming caused to root appearance five
rate of canola. days earlier than in control. Rao et al. 18 reported that priming with
PEG 8000 decreased the required time to 50 percent germination in
Merlin kale and Turniptyfon cultivars of rapeseed at 5.7°C for five
12 hours 24 hours 36hours
days. Subedi and Ma 22 found that maize seed priming with 2.5%
mean root length(mm)

0.006
0.005 KCl had no significant effect on germination and root and stem
0.004 length. Paul and Choudhury 17 observed that wheat seed soaking
0.003 with 0.5-1% KCl or K2SO4, increased the stem and grain yield,
0.002
significantly. Jalilian and Afshari 11 found that sugarbeet seed
0.001
priming with polyethylene glycol increased the rate and percent
0
of germination. The higher the osmotic potential around the seed,
Rigent- ocapi opera RJS003 SLM046 the lower water potential is resulted. So, less water can be absorbed
cobra
by the seed. Consequently, embryo cell swelling is decreased. As
cultivars
we know, cell swelling is one of the cell division factors. Therefore,
Figure 4. Effect of priming time and cultivar on mean root length of with reduction in available water and hence, reduction in swelling,
canola. finally root growth is decreased 26. Therefore, in distilled water

190 Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.6 (2), April 2008
 treatment, root length is higher than in other treatments. Also, it
can be concluded that higher water potential in distilled water
treatment than lower water potential resulted in saline solutions,
facilitates more water penetration into the seed. This increases
seed metabolic activities and hence, increases mean germination
rate and decreases mean germination time. Because of existing
significant differences among the treatments about root length, it
can be told that with increasing in root length, increasing in root
dry weight is reasonable.
Saline solutions penetration into the seed can be limited by
various osmotic potentials and cell wall permeability against
different ions. So, elongation of penetration time (priming time)
can cause different amounts of water transferred to the seed and
hence cause increase or decrease in seed metabolic reactions and
so, mean germination time and rate (as very important traits of
seed). In this work, we found that 36 hr priming made the highest
seed germination rate and perhaps, increase in priming time over
36 hr could be poisonous and decrease germination time and rate
because of more transferred ions into the seed.
Conclusions
As shown in Tables 1-3, RJS003 cultivar had the greatest values
of mean germination rate and mean root dry weight and Opera
cultivar had the greatest values of mean germination time, mean
stem dry weight and mean stem length. Also, distilled water
treatment had the highest mean germination rate and mean root
length and 4% KCl, 5% KH2PO4 and 1% KH2PO4 had the highest
mean stem dry weight, mean germination time and mean root dry
weight, respectively. Furthermore, the time of 24 hr caused the
longest mean germination time and 36 hr caused the highest mean
germination rate.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Central Laboratory of Agricultural
Faculty, Mohaghegh Ardabili University. Valuable experimental
support by Assad Gholizadeh is greatly appreciated.
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