Abstract
The viability status of every accession stored in a seed bank is essential for effective germplasm conservation, and it is often assessed through germination tests. However, dormancy can hamper this process. Currently, no dormancy-breaking protocols exist for buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) seeds, which exhibit physiological dormancy. In the present study, using phytohormones and chemicals, namely, gibberellic acid (GA3), KNO3, and H2O2, we identified effective seed dormancy-breaking protocols. Buckwheat seeds exhibited a high degree of dormancy, with only 21% of seeds having germinated. Treatment with KNO3 (0.1%, 0.2%, or 0.4%) and H2O2 (5, 10, or 20 mM) significantly improved seed germination and the dormancy index, and decreased the time to 50% germination and mean germination time. Furthermore, treatment with 200-ppm GA3 improved seedling length by 55%. Moreover, treatments with 20-mM-H2O2 and 0.4%-KNO3 improved seed vigor indices by 305% and 260%, respectively. Compared with the control, α-amylase activity was higher for all seed treatment groups. The groups treated with both 0.4%-KNO3 and 20-mM-H2O2 had the highest α-amylase activity. Thus, treatment with KNO3 (0.1%, 0.2%, or 0.4%) or H2O2 (5, 10, or 20 mM) can be incorporated as a dormancy-breaking protocol for seed testing and germplasm evaluation of buckwheat seeds with physiological seed dormancy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
All data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. The cultivar PRB-1 is multiplied and maintained by ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora Uttarakhand- 263,601 India.
References
Abdul-Baki AA, Anderson JD (1973) Vigor determination in soybean seed by multiple criteria 1. Crop Sci 13:630–633. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci1973.0011183X001300060013x
Amjad M, Ziaf K, Iqbal Q et al (2007) Effect of seed priming on seed vigour and salt tolerance in hot pepper. Pak J Agri Sci 44:408–414
Anand A, Kumari A, Thakur M, Koul A (2019) Hydrogen peroxide signaling integrates with phytohormones during the germination of magnetoprimed tomato seeds. Sci Rep 9:8814. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45102-5
Anonymous (2023) WASP - Web Agri Stat Package 2.0. https://ccari.icar.gov.in/wasp2.0/index.php. Accessed 17 Apr 2023
Aravind J, Vimala Devi S, Radhamani J, et al (2023) Germinationmetrics: Seed germination indices and curve fitting. R package version 0.1.7.9000. https://github.com/aravind-j/germinationmetricshttps://cran.r-project.org/package=germinationmetrics
Baalbaki R, Chaharsoughi SA, Le V, Koonse S (2018) Radicle length in agar is a reliable predictor of seed vigor. Seed Technol J 39:155–171
Babu S, Singh R, Avasthe RK et al (2016) Productivity, profitability and energetics of buckwheat (Fagopyrum sp.) cultivars as influenced by varying levels of vermicompost in acidic soils of Sikkim Himalayas India. Indian J Agr Sci 86:7
Bailly C (2019) The signalling role of ROS in the regulation of seed germination and dormancy. Biochem J 476:3019–3032. https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20190159
Balaguera-López HE, Cárdenas-Hernández JF, Álvarez-Herrera JG (2009) Effect of gibberellic acid (Ga3) on seed germination and growth of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Acta Hortic 821:141–148
Baskin J, Baskin C (2004) A classification system for seed dormancy. Seed Sci Res 14:1–16. https://doi.org/10.1079/SSR2003150
Basra SMA, Farooq M, Tabassum R, Ahmed N (2006) Evaluation of seed vigour enhancement techniques on physiological and biochemical basis in coarse rice (Oryza sativa L.). Seed Sci Technol 34:719–728
Batak I, Dević M, Gibal Z et al (2002) The effects of potassium nitrate and NO-donors on phytochrome A- and phytochrome B-specific induced germination of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds. Seed Sci Res 12:253–259. https://doi.org/10.1079/SSR2002118
Born WHV, Corns WG (1958) Studies on seed dormancy, plant development, and chemical control of tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum (l.) Gaertn.).: I. seed dormancy. Can J Plant Sci 38:357–366. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjps58-055
Çırak C, Kevseroğlu K, Ayan AK (2007) Breaking of seed dormancy in a Turkish endemic hypericum species: Hypericum aviculariifolium subsp. depilatum var. depilatum by light and some pre-soaking treatments. J Arid Environ 68:159–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2006.03.027
Czabator FJ (1962) Germination value: an index combining speed and completeness of pine seed germination. For Sci 8:386–396. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestscience/8.4.386
Debeaujon I, Koornneef M (2000) Gibberellin requirement for arabidopsis seed germination is determined both by testa characteristics and embryonic abscisic acid. Plant Physiol 122:415–424. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.122.2.415
Dong T, Tong J, Xiao L et al (2012) Nitrate, abscisic acid and gibberellin interactions on the thermoinhibition of lettuce seed germination. Plant Growth Regul 66:191–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-011-9643-5
Duermeyer L, Khodapanahi E, Yan D, Krapp A, Rothstein SJ, Nambara E (2018) Regulation of seed dormancy and germination by nitrate. Seed Sci Res 28(3):150–157. https://doi.org/10.1017/S096025851800020X
El-Kassaby YA, Moss I, Kolotelo D, Stoehr M (2008) Seed germination: Mathematical representation and parameters extraction. For Sci 54:220–227. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestscience/54.2.220
Ellis RH, Hong TD, Roberts EH (1985) Handbook of seed technology for genebanks. Volume II. Compendium of specific germination information and test recommendations. Chapter 58 Polygonaceae. International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, Rome
Evetts LL, Burnside OC (1972) Germination and seedling development of common milkweed and other species. Weed Sci 20:371–378. https://doi.org/10.1017/S004317450003589X
Finch-Savage WE, Leubner-Metzger G (2006) Seed dormancy and the control of germination. New Phytol 171:501–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01787.x
Finkelstein R, Reeves W, Ariizumi T, Steber C (2008) Molecular aspects of seed dormancy. Annu Rev Plant Biol 59:387–415. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.arplant.59.032607.092740
Graeber K, Linkies A, Steinbrecher T et al (2014) Delay of germination 1 mediates a conserved coat-dormancy mechanism for the temperature- and gibberellin-dependent control of seed germination. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1403851111
Hernández JA, Díaz-Vivancos P, Acosta-Motos JR, Barba-Espín G (2021) Potassium nitrate treatment is associated with modulation of seed water uptake, antioxidative metabolism and phytohormone levels of pea seedlings. Seeds 1:5–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/seeds1010002
Ishibashi Y, Tawaratsumida T, Kondo K et al (2012) Reactive oxygen species are involved in gibberellin/abscisic acid signaling in barley aleurone cells. Plant Physiol 158(4):1705–1714. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.111.192740
Ishibashi Y, Aoki N, Kasa S et al (2017) The Interrelationship between abscisic acid and reactive oxygen species plays a key role in barley seed dormancy and germination. Front Plant Sci. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00275
ISTA (2003) Working sheets on tetrazolium testing, volume I—agricultural vegetable and horticultural species, I. Bassersdorf, Switzerland
ISTA (2021) International Rules for Seed Testing. Bassersdorf, Switzerland
Jeevan Kumar SP, Rajendra Prasad S, Banerjee R, Thammineni C (2015) Seed birth to death: dual functions of reactive oxygen species in seed physiology. Ann Bot 116:663–668. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcv098
Jiang P, Burczynski F, Campbell C et al (2007) Rutin and flavonoid contents in three buckwheat species Fagopyrum esculentum, F. tataricum, and F. homotropicum and their protective effects against lipid peroxidation. Food Res Int 40:356–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2006.10.009
Kaneko M, Itoh H, Ueguchi-Tanaka M et al (2002) The α-amylase induction in endosperm during rice seed germination is caused by gibberellin synthesized in epithelium. Plant Physiol 128:1264–1270. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.010785
Kindiger B (2019) Enhancing germination of bromus auleticus seeds using a 15% hydrogen peroxide treatment. Seed Sci Technol 47:103–106
Kucera B, Cohn MA, Leubner-Metzger G (2005) Plant hormone interactions during seed dormancy release and germination. Seed Sci Res 15:281–307. https://doi.org/10.1079/SSR2005218
Kwon HJ, Shin SL, Kim YR, Kim SY (2020) Effects of temperature, gibberellic acid, and KNO3 treatments on seed germination of the wild plant Maesa japonica. Seed Sci Technol 1:65–72
Lamichhane JR, Debaeke P, Steinberg C et al (2018) Abiotic and biotic factors affecting crop seed germination and seedling emergence: a conceptual framework. Plant Soil 432:1–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3780-9
Lara TS, Lira JMS, Rodrigues AC et al (2014) Potassium nitrate priming affects the activity of nitrate reductase and antioxidant enzymes in tomato germination. J Agric Sci. https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v6n2p72
Lee MH, Song CH, Park CH et al (2022) Effect of gibberellic acid treatment and alternating temperature on breaking physiological dormancy and germination in Penthorum chinense Pursh (Penthoraceae). Seed Sci Technol 50:207–219
Leubner-Metzger G, Fründt C, Meins F (1996) Effects of gibberellins, darkness and osmotica on endosperm rupture and class I β-1,3-glucanase induction in tobacco seed germination. Planta 199:282–288. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00196570
Li HS, Sun Q, Zhao SJ, Zhang WH (2000) Principles and techniques of plant physiological biochemical experiment. Higher Education, Beijing
Liu Y, Ye N, Liu R et al (2010) H2O2 mediates the regulation of ABA catabolism and GA biosynthesis in Arabidopsis seed dormancy and germination. J Exp Bot 61:2979–2990. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erq125
Liu A, Gao F, Kanno Y et al (2013) Regulation of Wheat seed dormancy by after-ripening is mediated by specific transcriptional switches that induce changes in seed hormone metabolism and signaling. PLoS ONE 8:e56570. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056570
Miransari M, Smith DL (2014) Plant hormones and seed germination. Environ Exp Bot 99:110–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2013.11.005
Müller K, Tintelnot S, Leubner-Metzger G (2006) Endosperm-limited Brassicaceae seed germination: abscisic acid inhibits embryo-induced endosperm weakening of Lepidium sativum (cress) and endosperm rupture of cress and Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell Physiol 47:864–877. https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcj059
Nawaz A, Amjad M, Aslam Pervez M, Afzal I (2011) Effect of halopriming on germination and seedling vigor of tomato. Afr J Agric Res 6:3551–3559. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJAR11.064
Nawel N, Rym K, Hela M et al (2011) The effect of osmopriming on germination, seedling growth and phosphatase activities of lettuce under saline condition. Afr J Biotechnol 10:14366–14372. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJB11.1204
Ogawa M, Hanada A, Yamauchi Y et al (2003) Gibberellin biosynthesis and response during Arabidopsis seed germination. Plant Cell 15:1591–1604. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.011650
Ohsako T, Li C, Tian B (2017) Evolutionary relationship between a wild ancestor of common buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum subsp. ancestrale and a self-compatible relative F. homotropicum based on microsatellite variability. Genet Resour Crop Evol 64:1595–1603. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-016-0458-0
Pandey CD, Koul KA, Devi VS et al. (2019) Training manual international training programme on management of plant genetic resources for officers from directorate of seed testing and certification ministry of agriculture, Baghdad, Republic of Iraq (15–20 Jul 2019). http://www.nbpgr.ernet.in/Downloadfile.aspx?EntryId=8767
Ritchie S, Gilroy S (1998) Abscisic acid signal transduction in the barley aleurone is mediated by phospholipase D activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95(5):2697–2702. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.95.5.269
Salman M, Ishfaq AH, Syed Zia Ul H et al (2012) Evaluation of seed priming on germination of Gladiolus alatus. Afr J Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.5897/ajb12.1158
Shao C, Wang G, Ding X et al (2021) Physiological and biochemical characteristics of cold stratification to overcome morphophysiological dormancy in Glehnia littoralis seed. Seed Sci Technol 49:19–24
Simpson MG (2010) Diversity and classification of flowering plants: eudicots. Plant systematics. Elsevier, pp 275–448
Singh VP, Mall SL (1977) Seed germination studies in Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. I. Role of light and temperature. In: Proceedings of Indian National Science Acadamy, pp. 37–43
Stein M, Serban C, McCord P (2021) Exogenous ethylene precursors and hydrogen peroxide aid in early seed dormancy release in sweet cherry. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 146:50–55
Suzuki T, Hara T, Hara T, Katsu K (2020) Effect of storage temperature on occurrence of secondary dormancy in buckwheat seeds. Seed Sci Technol 48:257–267
Timple SE, Hay FR, MaFO M et al (2018) Response of intact seeds of wild rice (Oryza) species to dry heat treatment and dormancy-breaking chemicals. Seed Sci Technol 46:157–173
Toole EH, Toole VK, Borthwick HA, Hendricks SB (1955) Photocontrol of Lepidium seed germination. Plant Physiol 30:15–21. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.30.1.15
Toorop PE (2015) Nitrate controls testa rupture and water content during release of physiological dormancy in seeds of Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop. Seed Sci Res 25:138–146. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960258514000397
Verma V, Ravindran P, Kumar PP (2016) Plant hormone-mediated regulation of stress responses. BMC Plant Biol 16:86. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-016-0771-y
Wahid A, Sehar S, Perveen M et al (2008) Seed pretreatment with hydrogen peroxide improves heat tolerance in maize at germination and seedling growth stages. Seed Sci Technol 36:633–645
Willis CG, Baskin CC, Baskin JM et al (2014) The evolution of seed dormancy: environmental cues, evolutionary hubs, and diversification of the seed plants. New Phytol 203:300–309. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12782
Wojtyla Ł, Lechowska K, Kubala S, Garnczarska M (2016) Different modes of hydrogen peroxide action during seed germination. Front Plant Sci. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.00066
Yamaguchi S, Kamiya Y, Sun T (2002) Distinct cell-specific expression patterns of early and late gibberellin biosynthetic genes during Arabidopsis seed germination. Plant J 28:443–453. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-313X.2001.01168.x
Zeinalabedini M, Majourhat K, Khayam-Nekoui M et al (2009) Breaking seed dormancy in long-term stored seeds from Iranian wild almond species. Seed Sci Technol 37:267–275
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to Mr. Gaurav Thakran for assisting in obtaining SEM images.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
VRY, VD, GC, VHP, and DA contributed to the study conception and design. VRY and VD performed the data analysis. VRY wrote the first draft of the manuscript. SKL and GPM acquired funds and supervised the analyses. DCJ and RPM supplied the seed material. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Yalamalle, V.R., Dunna, V., Chawla, G. et al. Overcoming physiological dormancy in common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench). Genet Resour Crop Evol 71, 1659–1672 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-023-01729-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-023-01729-y