The Effect of Halopriming and Salicylic Acid on the Germination of Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) under Different Cadmium Concentrations

Abstract

The hereby study was based on a factorial experiment conducted in a completely randomized design with four replications, at Agriculture College, Shahrekord University, Iran, in 2014. The role of salicylic acid (SA), potassium nitrate (KNO₃) and potassium chloride (KCl) was evaluated on seed germination of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) under different cadmium concentrations. Treatments included four levels of seed priming (no priming, potassium chloride, potassium nitrate, salicylic acid) and four levels of cadmium concentration (0, 10, 20, 30 mg/L). Cadmium chloride caused a significant inhibition in germination percentage, root elongation, shoot elongation and seedling dry weight. The shoot length was more sensitive to cadmium concentrations than the root length. Primed seeds with SA (100 mg/L) proved protection against Cd stress and increased the germination percentage, root elongation, shoot elongation and dry weight of seedlings compared to the control treatment. Seeds treated with SA alleviated the Cd negative effect on germination parameters. In conclusion, using seed priming with salicylic acid can be recommended as a good technique for fenugreek crop on fields exposed to high cadmium toxicity.