Effects of seed germination with gibberellin on safflower germination under salinity stress

Abstract Salinity is one of the most important factors limiting plant growth and production around the world. Gibberellic acid is known as a strong growth stimulator, effective on seed germination and breaking of seed dormancy in various plant species. In order to study the response of Safflower,Sofeh cultivar, to salinity stress, a factorial experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block designwith three replications in Pardis Agricultural Research and Education Center, Saveh, Iran. The first factor was salinity at three levels including 0, 100, and 200 mMNaCal. The second factor was seed priming with gibberellin at three levels including 0, 20, and 40 mgl-1. Findings suggested that the salinity and seed priming improved biochemical indexes of proline and peroxidase in the seedlings under study, increasing their mean germination time, germination rate, germination percentage, and chlorophyll contents. The maximum proline contents were observed in the seedlings treated with 200 mM salinity and priming with 49 mgl-1gibberelin, 3.48 mg per gram fresh weight. The maximum mean germination time, germination rate, germination percentage, and chlorophyll contents were related to 0 mM salinity and 40 mgl-1gibberellin as 2.86 days, 26.16%, 76.6%, and 8.05%, respectively. In sum, the findings suggested that priming of safflower seeds with gibberellin under saline conditions improves the plants’ resistance against salinity and their germination and growth.