Heat Shock Followed by Priming Increases the Quality of Agropyron elongatum Seeds under Accelerated Ageing

Abstract

The present study was carried out to examine the possibilities of obtaining primed seeds that maintain high germination quality and the same longevity as the untreated seeds. For Tall wheatgrass tested, we found that the desired longevity could be obtained by keeping the seeds under heat shock for a period of several hours, after a priming treatment. Decreasing germination and seedling vigour in BAP 25 and 50 ppm, for 24 priming, did not happen again due to such a treatment. In addition, following priming, heat shock affects the initial quality of primed seeds in some treatments. Optimal temperature was strongly duration dependent. The method was applied to obtain primed seeds without the loss of storability, which is similar to those procedures used to induce desiccation tolerance in germinated seeds and acquire thermo tolerance in plant vegetative tissues.