Soaking Rice Seeds in High Concentration Salt Solution Improved Salt Tolerance at the Seedling Stage

[Objectives]This study was conducted to enhance the salt tolerance of current rice varieties at the seedling stage and fulfill the urgent requirement for salt-tolerant rice varieties in coastal tidal flats.[Methods]Four high-generation stable rice lines with diverse salt tolerance were employed as test materials,and four NaCl concentration gradients were established for seed soaking treatment.[Results]The seedling survival rate of line 151465 underwent significant alterations after soaking with four different salt concentrations,and the survival rate was the highest after treatment with 1.8%NaCl for 1 d,reaching 65.2%.The average survival rate of other three lines with different salt tolerance reached 62%after soaking with 1.8%NaCl for 1 d,which was significantly higher than those of the 2.2%NaCl and 0%NaCl treatments.[Conclusions]This study provides a basis for reducing the effect of abiotic stress on rice growth and development and improving the utilization rate of saline-alkali land.

Effect of Seed Soaking with Rare Earth on the Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Tartary Buckwheat under Different Water Conditions

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the effect of soaked seed with rare earth on the seed germination and seedling growth of tartary buckwheat under different water conditions. [Method] A hydroponic experiment was carried out with the seeds of tartary buckwheat variety ＂Heifeng No.1＂ in the year 2012. [Result] ①In the normal irrigation, suitable concentration of rare earth increased the germination rate, vital index, germination index and sprouting index of tartary buckwheat seed; at the same time, the leaf area, stem thickness, total root length, root weight,leaf relative water content, proline content, soluble sugar content, soluble protein content, root activity, SOD activity and POD activity of seedling were significantly enhanced, while the relative conductivity and MDA content of tartary buckwheat were decreased obviously. ② Compared with water stress and normal irrigation, the indices of germination potential, germination rate, vital index, germination index, the leaf area, stem thickness, total root length, root weight, leaf relative water content,proline content, chlorophyll content, soluble sugar content, root activity, SOD and POD activity were reduced, while relative conductivity and MDA content were increased, and the extents differed in the treatment of different chemical regulators,and the varied range increased with the higher severity of soil water stress. ③ Under water stress, soaking seeds with suitable concentration（200 mg/L） of rare earth could significantly improve the SOD and POD activity, leaf area, total root length,chlorophyll content and root activity compared with CK. They could increase leaf relative water content by 8.9% and 10.8%, proline content by 7.5% and 8.2%, TTC activity by 13.8% and 16.7%, and soluble sugar content by 10.4% and 7.9% under mild and severe water stress, separately. [Conclusion] The appropriate concentration of rare earth was 200 mg/L.

Effects of Seed Soaking with Uniconazole and Substrate Formula on Seedling Quality of Rapeseed

[Objective] To cultivate blanket rapeseed seedlings suitable for automatic mechanical transplanting, the effects of seed soaking with uniconazole and substrate formula on seed germination and seedling quality of rapeseed were investigated using HY4 as the material. [Method] The rapeseed seeds were soaked in different concentrations（0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg/L） of uniconazole for 0, 1, 2, 4 and8 h, respectively. Subsequently, they were dried naturally. After the preliminary screening carried out in petri dishes and in a laboratory, the optimum soaking concentration and time of uniconazole were obtained. On the other hand, the rapeseed seeds were soaked in different concentrations（0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 mg/L） of uniconazole for 0, 1 and 2 h, respectively for outdoor pot experiment. At the same time, the screening of optimum substrate formula for cultivating blanket rapeseed seedlings was carried out. The field test was carried out to verify the screened optimum substrate formula. [Result] The results of petri dish experiment showed that seed soaking with uniconazole could delay seed germination, reduce seed germination rate, inhibit hypocotyl elongation and promote root growth. When the soaking concentration exceeded 30 mg/L and soaking time exceeded 2 h, the effect of seed soaking with uniconazole on seed germination was greater, and the seed soaking inhibited root growth. The results of outdoor pot experiment showed that the soaking concentrations and times all significantly reduced seedling height, slowed shoot growth and promoted root growth, which all contributed to the cultivation of blanket rapeseed seedlings suitable for automatic mechanical transplanting. In the substrate formula, the lower the proportion of soil was, the better the seedling growth was. In the substrate with lower proportion of soil, the seed germination rate, plant height,root vigor and dry matter accumulation were all increased（P〈0.05）, which was verified by the field test. When the soaking concentration was less than 10 mg/L and soaking time was less than 1 h, the uniconazole showed weaker regulation effect on seedling growth, and the rapeseed seedlings were higher. In the substrate with soil proportion less than 50%, the adequate fertility relatively weakened the regulation effect of uniconazole on seedling growth, and the rapeseed seedlings were larger. [Conclusion] When the soaking concentration ranged within 15-20 mg/L and soaking time ranged within 1-2 h and the proportion of soil in substrate was 50%,the height of cultivated rapeseed seedlings was less than 18 cm, there were 5-6leaves remained on each plant and the nursing period was shortened to 30-40 d,which were all beneficial to industrial production.

Quality of Irrigated Water with Nanometer Pottery Tray Treatment and Its Effects on Seed Soaking

To study the impacts of nanometer pottery trays （NPTs） on different rice varieties, three rice varieties, Zhongzheyou 1, Jinzao 47 and Xiushui 09, were treated with four NPTs （NPT-A, NPT-B, NPT-C and NPT-D） with different energies, respectively. The results showed that when the same rice variety was treated with different NPTs or different rice varieties were treated with the same NPT, the impacts on seed germination rate, seedling growth, plant height, panicle length and weight, the number of filled grains, seed-setting rate and 1000-grain weight varied between different rice variety-NPT interaction groups. In general, high energy NPT-C and NPT-D treatments obviously enhanced the functions of most examined rice characters. For example, NPT-C and NPT-D treatments improved the germination rate of all the three rice varieties, and promoted the root growth of seedlings, and increased seedling fresh weight, single panicle weight, filled grain number per panicle, seed-setting rate and 1000-grain weight. On the contrary, low energy NPT-A treatment restrained the seed germination rate in Jinzao 47 and Zhongzheyou 1, and decreased the seedling fresh weight in Zhongzheyou 1. NPT-B treatment restrained the seedling growth in Jinzao 47 but increased the panicle length of Zhongzheyou 1. NPT-A and NPT-C treatments obviously decreased the 1000-grain weight in Xiushui 09. Therefore, when treating crop seeds or plants using nanomaterials or nanotechnologies, different types of crops/varieties should select the nanomaterials or nanotechnologies with suitable energies to reduce the negative effects.

Effects of Acetylacetone Solution Soaking on Agrobacterium - transformed Maize Seed Buds

[Objectives]The effect of acetosyringone seed soaking on the transformation of maize seed buds was analyzed,so as to improve the genetic transformation efficiency of maize and to provide technical support for transgenic breeding of maize.[Methods]The seeds of the"Zheng 58"maize inbred line were used as experimental materials.When the seeds were germinated,AS was added to the water at concentrations of 70,140,210,and 280μmol/L,respectively,and the seeds germinated without the addition of AS served as the CK.The Agrobacterium-mediated method was used to transform bud growth points of maize seeds,and green fluorescent protein detection was performed on the young shoots transformed with EGFP(enhanced green fluorescent protein)gene.The effect of soaking seeds with acetosyringone solution on the transformation of maize bud growth points by Agrobacterium was studied according to the detection results.[Results]Soaking seeds in acetosyringone solutions for germination had the effect of inhibiting the germination of maize seeds and inhibiting sprout elongation,and the higher the concentration of acetosyringone,the stronger the inhibition.When the concentration of acetosyringone solution was 280μmol/L,the germination rate of seeds was only 36.2%of the CK,while soaking seeds with 70-140μmol/L acetosyringone solution for germination could not only ensure a higher germination rate of maize seeds,but also significantly increased the transformation efficiency of maize bud growth points.When the seeds were soaked with 70μmol/L acetosyringone solution for germination,the positive rate of transformed maize buds was the highest,reaching 32.1%.[Conclusions]When maize bud growth points were used as the receptor of Agrobacterium transformation,soaking seeds with 70-140μmol/L acetosyringone for germination basically did not affect the germination of seeds,and was beneficial to the activation of Agrobacterium,thereby promoting the transformation.

Effect of trace elements on growth of Pinus tabulaeformis seedling

The stimulative effect of trace elements on seed germination and seedling growth of Pinus tabulaeformis was tested. The experiments were carried out on seed soak and topdressing with different trace elements and varied concentrations at the nursery of Gardens Research Institute, Harbin, in 2000-2001. The experimental results showed that soaking seed with 1% and 0.2% concentrations of Mn element produced best result for seed germination, and the germination rate was increased by 9%~19% for the seeds treated with 1% concentration and 12%~14% for the seeds treated with 0.2% concentration compared with the control group. The seeds treated with boron element had lowest germination rate. For trace element topdressing, Mn and Mo elements presented good result for seedling growth and the treatment with low concentration was even better. The height or chlorophyll content of the seedlings with spray of low-concentration Mn and Mo element was much higher than that of untreated ones. In the contrast to the treating method of seed soak, topdressing (application of spraying on foliage) had evident effect on seedling growth.

Effects of Salt Stress on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth in Raphanus sativus L.

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the effects of salt stress on seed germination and seedling growth in radish（Raphanus sativus L.）.[Method] First,effects of soaking seeds with clear water and different concentrations of saline solution were compared; then,different concentrations of salt solution （0.2％-1.0％） was used to treat radish during the whole germination period.[Result] soaking seeds with clear water can improve the germination indicators of radish seeds exposed to high salt stress; low salt concentration（0.2％,0.4％） had little effect on the growth indicators of radish seedlings,and 0.2％ salt concentration can even promote the growth of radish seedlings,however,the high salinity had a bad inhibition on seedling growth,the higher the salt concentration,the stronger the inhibition.[Conclusion] According to the comprehensive comparison,the order of the six varieties in salt-tolerance was as follows：Xinxiayuanbai＞W1029,Xiayuanbai ＞ Nanyangbailizhi,Chunyidianhong＞ Sijihong 3.

Effect of seed soaked with urea solution on the cold tolerance of rice seedlings

In the Yangtze river aera,the first crop of indi-ca rice is sown in late Mar to early Apr andtransplanted in early May.Usually,seedlingsperish when abnormal low temperature of 6-10℃ lasted for 3 d or longer.The effect ofsocking seed with urea solution on increasingthe cold tolerance at the seedling stage was

Effects of Illumination Intensity, 5-aminolevulinic Acid Concentration and Their Interaction on Chlorophyll Fluorescence Parameters and Yield of Summer Maize

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the influence of illumination intensity, 5-aminolevulinic acid （ALA） concentration and their interaction on chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and yield of summer maize. [Method] Two illumination intensity levels and five ALA concentrations were applied in the experiment using 2x5 completely balanced program. The two illumination intensity levels were natural light （So） and 60% shade （SO, and five ALA concentrations were 0, 1, 10, 25 and 50 mg/L. [Result] The relative chlorophyll content of leaf （SPAD）, the optimal/maximal quantum yield of PS II （Fv/Fm）, the photochemical quenching coefficient （qP）, electron transport rate （ETR）, grain number per cob and grain weight per cob in $1 treatment were significantly reduced compared with that in So. However, the non- photochemical quenching coefficient （qN） was significantly increased. The responses of these parameters to ALA were different under So and $1 treatments. The SPAD, Fv/Fm, qP, ETR, grain number and grain weight per cob were firstly increased, but then decreased following the raise of ALA concentration, ranging from 0 to 50 mg/L, whereas qN showed opposite trend. The effect of the interaction of illumination in- tensity and ALA concentration on these parameters was significant （P〈0.05）. Under natural light, summer maize could obtain higher SPAD, Fv/Fm, qP and ETR and lower qN combined with low concentration of ALA. However, high concentration of ALA was needed under shading to get the same results. [Conclusion] Soaking seed in suitable concentration of ALA can reduce the yield loss of summer maize caused by short-term shading in seedling stage.

A comparison of the toxicity of landfill leachate exposure at the seed soaking and germination stages on Zea mays L.(maize)

To compare the toxicity of landfill leachate exposure at the early stages of seed soaking and germination on maize,a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the physiological aspects of growth,yield and potential clastogenicity of root-tip cells. The maizes were treated with leachate at levels of 2%,10%,20%,30% or 50%（V/V）. First,the change of physiological indexes,including chlorophyll（Chl）,Malondialdehyde（MDA）and Reactive oxygen species（ROS）levels,combined with yield all showed that soaking with leachate,but not germination,generated a greater ecological risk on maize. After a soaking treatment of maize with 50% leachate,the Chl,MDA and ROS levels during a vigorous growth period were 47.3%,149.8% and 309.7%,respectively,of the control,whereas the yield decreased to 68.6% of the control. In addition,our results demonstrated that the leachate at lower levels could promote growth. This is mainly embodied in that the yield of maize treated with 10%leachate at the soaking stage increased to 116.0% of the control. Moreover,the cytological analysis experiment also demonstrated that the ecological risk of leachate still exists in both cases. Furthermore,the gray relational analysis showed that the ear row number and tassel branch number were the major factors affecting the yield of maize treated with 50%leachate at the stages of soaking and germination,respectively. In general,these results are helpful in understanding the phytotoxicity of leachate,which provides additional reference data for risk assessment and management of leachate.

Control Efficiency of Different Treatments on Rice Bakanae Disease

After different treatments, germination of rice seeds and growth of young seedlings were observed, and the optimal seed soaking agent was selected by comparing seedling growth and incidence of bakanae disease in the fidd. The results showed that self-made powder （800 times） could promote indoor seed germina- tion and seedling growth, had no obvious inhibitory effect on the growth of seedlings in the field, and could reduce the incidence of bakanae disease of rice seed- lings, so it was the optimal treatment for controlling rice bakanae disease.