Integrating flood depth and plant resistance with chlorantraniliprole seed treatments for management of rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus （Coleoptera： Curculionidae）

Chlorantraniliprole seed treatments in rice provide effective suppression of rice water weevil populations in the United States; however, heavy reliance on prophylac- tic insecticide treatments as a sole strategy could destabilize management programs for this insect. The present research evaluated the compatibility of seed treatments with two other potential management tactics--plant resistance and shallow flooding-by conducting two split-plot experiments in 2009 and 2011. In both experiments, no substantial antago- nism was found among the 3 different tactics. Statistical interactions in these experiments arose from the strong and persistent effects of chlorantraniliprole on larval densities rather than incompatibility of tactics. In 2009, weevil densities differed among varieties and were significantly lower on the cultivar ＂Jefferson.＂ In 2011, weevil densities were reduced sig- nificantly in shallow-flooded plots compared to deep-flooded plots. Significant reductions in weevil numbers by chlorantraniliprole seed treatments, even at application rates 5 fold lower than commercially recommended rates, demonstrated the potential to reduce appli- cation rates of this highly potent larvicide. These latter results suggest that future studies on the relationship between chlorantraniliprole seed treatment rate and weevil fitness are warranted.

Seed Priming with MgCl_(2),CaCl_(2),and ZnCl_(2) as a Biofortification Based-Approach Induces Changes in Anise Seedlings Emergence

Aromatic and medicinal plant species having small seeds havefield emergence problems due to low nutrient supply.Therefore,Pimpinella anisum seeds were hydro and osmoprimed with 100 mM MgCl_(2),CaCl_(2),and ZnCl_(2),for 2,4,and 8 h each to compare their growth attributes during germination and seedling establishment stages.Nontreated seeds were used as control.Both hydro and osmo primed seeds were dried for 48 h before,they were sown in plastic trays in growth room conditions to see the impact of treatments on seedling emergence and growth.The maximum root length(12.90 cm),fresh weight(256.30 mg plant^(-1)),and mean emergence time(MET)were recorded from 8 h MgCl_(2) primed seeds.Similarly,the maximum(97.50,and 98.00%)emergence percentage was observed using 8 h MgCl_(2) primed seeds and nontreated seeds(control treatment).The evaluation of parameters like chlorophyll contents and electrical conductivity showed the 8 h MgCl_(2) priming as the optimum treatment.The evaluation of parameters like chlorophyll contents and electrical conductivity showed the 8 h MgCl_(2) priming as the optimum treatment.The result suggests MgCl_(2) priming worked synergistically and improved seed-ling growth attributes under greenhouse conditions.The chlorophyll content ranged 25.94–35.69 SPAD unit.The highest chlorophyll content was obtained from the seedlings obtained from 4 h CaCl_(2) treatment,which were statistically similar to the chlorophyll contents of the seedlings obtained after 8 h MgCl_(2) treatment and nontreated seeds(control treatment).All other treatments showed inhibition in the chlorophyll contents and growth attributes of the seedlings.In conclusion,MgCl_(2) osmopriming treatments were significantly promotive and better compared to hydro-priming and osmopriming treatments including control treatment in terms of anise seeds germination and emergence.

Effect of Cold Plasma Treatment on Seed Germination and Growth of Wheat

This study investigated the effect of cold helium plasma treatment on seed germina- tion, growth and yield of wheat. The effects of different power of cold plasma on the germination of treated wheat seeds were studied. We found that the treatment of 80 W could significantly improve seed germination potential （6.0%） and germination rate （6.7%） compared to the control group. Field experiments were carried out for wheat seeds treated with 80 W cold plasma. Com- pared with the control, plant height （20.3%）, root length （9.0%） and fresh weight （21.8%） were improved significantly at seedling stage. At booting stage, plant height, root length, fresh weight, stem diameter, leaf area and leaf thickness of the treated plant were respectively increased by 21.8%, 11.0%, 7.0%, 9.0%, 13.0% and 25.5%. At the same time, the chlorophyll content （9.8%）, nitrogen （10.0%） and moisture content （10.0%） were higher than those of the control, indicating that cold plasma treatment could promote the growth of wheat. The yield of treated wheat was 7.55 t-ha-1, 5.89% more than that of the control. Therefore, our results show that cold plasma has important application prospects for increasing wheat yield.

Effect of seed treatment for laboratory germination of Albizia chinensis

Seeds of Albizia chinensis（Osb.） Merr. in addition to water were also treated with different treatments by incubating in ethyl alcohol, acetone, and petroleum ether at room temperature for different durations. Seed heat treatment was done at temperatures of 30, 40 and 60℃ for different durations up to 24 h. To overcome dormancy caused by the impermeable seed coat, seeds were nicked and also treated with concen- trated sulphuric acid for different durations. Seeds responded to treat- ments with sulphuric acid and nicking only. Treatment with sulphuric acid for 20 and 30 min showed maximum germination at all incubation temperatures as compared to untreated controls and seeds treated with sulphuric acid for 10 min and nicking. Seedling length was greatest from seeds treated with sulphuric acid for 20 and 30 min and incubated at 30 ℃. Seedling dry weight was highest from nicked seeds incubated at 20℃ The most favourable incubation temperature was 30 ℃ as evidenced from GR （germination rate index） and Gv （germination value）. After ascertaining the seed response and performance we recommend that seeds ofAlbizia chinensis be treated with sulphuric acid for 20 or 30 min and incubation temperature of 25 to 30℃.

Biocontrol of Rhizoctonia solani K1 by Iturin A Producer Bacillus subtilis RB14 Seed Treatment in Tomato Plants

Bacillus subtilis RB14 was used as an antagonist against fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani K1 to control damping-off diseases in tomato plants. Tomato seeds were treated with B. subtilis RB14 culture. The concentration of bacterial cells for the treatment was about 108 cfu/ml. Treated tomato seeds showed 99% germination index similar to the untreated seeds. Scanning Electron Microscopic observations showed a clear evidence of the presence of B. subtilis RB14 on tomato seed surface. Clear inhibition zone was observed using treated seed in dual plate assay against R. solani K1. B. subtilis RB14 treated seed showed 80% reduction in disease incidence during in vivo plant experiments. B. subtilis RB14 produces lipopeptide antifungal antibiotic iturin A which could suppress R. solani K1. The phenomenon was supported by our observation where we found significant amount of iturin A from the root zone soil of the seed treated plants.

Transcriptome analysis shows nicotinamide seed treatment alters expression of genes involved in defense and epigenetic processes in roots of seedlings of Picea abies

Nicotinamide treatment of plants and plant cell cultures has been shown to promote defense and decrease levels of DNA methylation.In the present study,we used RNA-seq technology to study overall changes in gene expression induced in roots of 3-month-old spruce(Picea abies)seedlings grown from nicotinamide-treated seeds to examine the molecular mechanisms underlying the defense promotion.Approximately 350 genes were identified as differentially expressed in roots after the seed treatment.Stress response genes,including transcription factors MYB77 and LHY and two chitinase enzymes,were generally upregulated,whereas genes thought to be involved in epigenetic regulation such as DDM1,known to promote DNA methylation,were present at high frequency among the downregulated genes.Across all samples,the expression of downregulated epigenetic-related genes was highly correlated with the nicotinamide treatment,indicating a common regulation.Our results support an earlier hypothesis regarding a potential role of nicotinamide as a defense-signal mediator.

Seed treatment and inhibition of plantpathology by chitosan

0. 1% solution of chitosan was studied as seed soaking agent for cotton and maize.Chitosan will help stimulate the seeds of cotton and maize for sprouting. It can also restrain thefosanum oxysporin and verticillium. then inhibit the cotton wilt and maize smut. The annual out-put of cotton and maize increased by 11.80% and ,0.4%, respectively.

Study on laser pre-sowing treatment of rice seeds by free-falling transport method

Recently,laser pre-sowing treatment of seed is attracting a great attention of scientific community for its positive influence to enhance germination,seedling and growth of plants,vegetables and crops.In this study,effect of laser pre-sowing treatment of rice seeds was given,which was implemented by free-falling transport method.Test has been processed in Unzon district(DPRK)in 2017.Two kinds of Korean rice seeds(namely Pyongyang-53 and Dongsung-1)were irradiated by semiconductor laser with wavelength of 650 nm,which was controlled in PWM mode.Each group was irradiated using exposure time of 0.28 s and duty ratio of 50 percent.In result,a considerable improvement has been observed in germination,growth and final productivity.Using laser pre-sowing treatment of rice seed,total productivities have been increased by 7.7%and 21%for “Pyongyang-53”and “Dongsung-1”,respectively.Results show that laser pre-sowing treatment of seed can significantly enhance germination,seedling and growth,and thus can improve the productivity of rice.In future research,laser pre-sowing treatment by free-falling transport method should be processed for other kinds of plants,vegetables and cereal crops to find out appropriate parameters,such as mechanical structure of device,wave length and power of laser,frequency and duty cycle of PWM control signal and exposure time,etc.