Biostimulants promote rice (Oryza sativa L.) seed germination in saline medium

Abstract

Rice is one of the most important cereals and feeds more than 50 % of the world population. Its production is affected by different factors, among them, soil salinization. For this reason, it is necessary to use strategies to reduce the damage caused by salinity in the establishment, growth and development of these plants, one of them being the use of environmentally friendly bioactive products. The aim of this study was to determine if the treatment of rice seeds cultivar INCA LP-7 with Pectimorf^® or with an aqueous extract of Sargassum fluitans is capable of stimulating their germination in a saline medium. In the first, seeds were immersed for 24 hours in solutions of different concentrations of Pectimorf^® (10, 20 and 40 mg L^-1) and in the second, in different concentrations of sargassum extract (0.5, 1, 1.5, 3.5 and 5 %). In both experiments, seeds were germinated for seven days and the germination dynamics, as well as the final germination percentage, seedling dry mass and vigor index were evaluated. The results showed that the application of 10 and 40 mg L^-1 of Pectimorf^® significantly stimulated the final germination percentage and vigor index in saline medium, while the sargassum extract increased both dry mass and vigor index in all the concentrations studied.