Eco-physiological studies on desert plants: germination of Halothamnus iraqensis Botsch. seeds under different conditions

作     者：Arvind BHATT Narayana R BHAT Valentina MURRU ANDrea SANTO 

作者机构：Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research University of Cagliari Independent Researcher 

出 版 物：《Journal of Arid Land》 (干旱区科学（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2019年第11卷第1期

页      面：75-85页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 0830[工学-环境科学与工程（可授工学、理学、农学学位）] 0709[理学-地质学] 0708[理学-地球物理学] 09[农学] 0815[工学-水利工程] 0705[理学-地理学] 0903[农学-农业资源与环境] 

基　　金：funded by Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research 

主　　题：wings’ presence storage period photoperiod thermoperiod salt stress Halothamnus iraqensis Botsch 

摘      要：With the aim to investigate if the halophyte Halothamnus iraqensis Botsch. can be suitable for re-vegetation and remediation of salt-affected lands, this study evaluated(1) the effects of photoperiod, thermoperiod, storage period and wings presence on its seed germination, and(2) the ability of its seeds to have successful germination recovery after salt stress. Germination tests in different photoperiods(12 h light/12 h darkness and total darkness) and thermoperiods(15℃/20℃ and 20℃/25℃) were conducted for seeds collected in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The seeds collected in 2016 were sown under different salinity levels(0, 100, 200, 400 and 600 m M Na Cl) to assess the salinity tolerance during the germination. Wings presence highly inhibited seed germination of this species in both photoperiods and thermoperiods under all salinity level treatments. In addition, the germination recovery occurred well when seeds were deprived of their wings. The photoperiod of 12 h light/12 h darkness and the thermoperiod of 15℃/20℃ were the best conditions for seed germination. Germination percentages of H. iraqensis seeds decreased with the increasing storage duration, especially after three years of the collection. In addition, H. iraqensis seeds were able to germinate under different salinity levels, and their germination percentages decreased with increasing salinity levels. H. iraqensis seeds have the ability to recover their germination after alleviating the salt stress, irrespective of photoperiod, highlighting the halophilous character of this species.