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Effect of salinity on composition, viability and germination of seeds of Chenopodium quinoa Willd

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Abstract

Salinity influences plant growth, seed yield and seed quality even of halophytic crops such as Chenopodium quinoa. Plant growth, total seed yield, number of seeds, fresh weight and dry weight of seeds, were all significantly reduced in the presence of salinity. Only at high salinity did the content of proteins (as well as total N) increase significantly in the seeds whereas the content of total carbohydrates (as well as total C) decrease. Aside from that the capacity for germination was diminished by a reduced seed size and a disproportionate reduction of the volume of the perisperm. However, the reduced capacity seemed to be compensated by an accelerated germination owing to high Na and Cl concentrations leading to a low water potential in the walls of the plant ovary. At high salinity the passage of NaCl to the seed interior was hindered by the seed cover. There was an obvious gradient between potentially toxic (Na and Cl) and essentially needed elements (K, Mg, Ca, P and S) across the seed coat of salt treated plants and also a significant change of the distribution of elements in the embryo. The results indicate a highly protected seed interior leading to a high salinity resistance of quinoa seeds.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Prof. Dr. Samy A. Habib, Ain Shams University, Faculty of Agriculture, Dept. of Agricultural Botany, Cairo, Egypt, Prof. Helmut Lieth, Institute of Environmental Systems Research (USF), University of Osnabrück, Germany and Dr. Nicole Geissler, Institute for Plant Ecology, University of Giessen, Germany for critically reading the manuscript. This work has been supported by a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, A/03/32801).

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  1. Institute for Plant Ecology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    Hans-Werner Koyro

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Botany, Ain Shams University, P.O. Box 58, Hadayek Shobra, Cairo, Egypt

    Sayed Said Eisa

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Koyro, HW., Eisa, S.S. Effect of salinity on composition, viability and germination of seeds of Chenopodium quinoa Willd. Plant Soil 302, 79–90 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9457-4

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