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Effect of salinity and chemical factors on seed germination in the halophyte Crithmum maritimum L.

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Abstract

Seeds of the halophyte Crithmum maritimum L. were exposed to salt stress and chemical pretreatments in order to improve germination. Seeds submitted to salt stress did not germinate but they recovered rapidly upon transfer to distilled water, recovery being higher after a low salinity pretreatment. Chemical treatments resulted in differential effects on seed germination. Known dormancy breakers such as potassium nitrate and thiourea had no effect on sea fennel seed germination. Conversely, l-ascorbic acid (40 or 60 mM) and ethanol (96%) significantly improved germination rate by 10, 30 and 30%, respectively. Pretreatment of seeds with l-ascorbic acid at 40 mM was shown to alleviate the negative effects of low NaCl concentration on germination. These findings indicate that the application of ascorbic acid may be used to improve sea fennel seed germination, which is of great interest for cultivating this plant.

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Acknowledgement

This research was partly supported by the Brest Metropole Oceane (BMO) through a Ph.D fellowship (L.M.). Contribution N°1086 of the IUEM, European Institute for Marine Studies (Brest, France).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Ecophysiologie et de Biotechnologie des Halophytes et des Algues Marines, EA 3877 (LEBHAM), Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Technopôle Brest Iroise, Place Nicolas Copernic, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Laetitia Meot-Duros & Christian Magné

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  1. Laetitia Meot-Duros
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  2. Christian Magné
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Correspondence to Laetitia Meot-Duros.

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Responsible Editor: Hans Lambers.

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Meot-Duros, L., Magné, C. Effect of salinity and chemical factors on seed germination in the halophyte Crithmum maritimum L.. Plant Soil 313, 83–87 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9681-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9681-6

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