Investigating the effect of L-cysteine amino acid on the germination of basil (Ocimum basilicum L. cv. Genovese) seeds under salinity stress

Seed germination is a critical stage in plant life. Salinity is one of the most important abiotic stresses in plants that makes it difficult for the germination stage of many plants. In order to investigate the effect of priming seeds of basil (Genovese cv.) with amino acid on germination characteristics of seeds under salinity stress, an experiment was conducted a factorial based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications in the physiology and medicinal plants laboratory of the Faculty of Dr. Shariati Technical and Vocational College of Tehran (TVU). The Experimental treatments included levels of salinity (0, 3, 6 and 9 ds/m) and priming of seed basil with amino acid (L-cysteine) at three concentrations of 0, 100 and 200 µM. Salinity stress had a significant and decreasing effect on all measures of traits. Priming of seeds with amino acid had a significant effect on all investigated traits except coefficient of allometry (CA) and reduced the effects of salinity stress. Germination percentage did not decrease significantly up to, salinity of 3 dS/m, but at 6 and 9 dS/m salinity reduced by 8 and 41%, respectively, compared with control treatment. Amino acid increased the seed germination rate up to 100 µM at 6 dS/m of salinity, but it was not effective at 9 dS/m. Seed priming with 200 µM amino acid had the highest length of radicle (28.2 mm), which was 19% higher than the control treatment.