Treatment of broad bean seeds with algal suspensions to study their effects on certain growth and yield parameters

Abstract

Article history: In the present study chlorella vulgaris and Nostoc muscorum were used as priming solutions for broad bean seeds before cultivation. Presoaking caused a significant (p≤0.05) increase in growth and yield parameters in addition to some metabolites. Treatment with Nostoc muscorum showed highly significant increase in growth parameters, root length (by 30%), shoot length (by 44%), 2fold increase in root fresh weight and 1.5fold fold increase in shoot fresh weight, 67% increase in root dry weight and about 1.6 fold increase in shoot dry weight, also significant increase in photosynthetic pigments, carbohydrates and protein by 52%, 20% and 1.7 fold, respectively, were also recorded.Yield parameters also increased due to algal treatment, the increase was 7% for weight of 100 seeds, 5% for carbohydrates and 32% for protein.Furthermore, algal treatments caused changes in the activity of different antioxidant enzymes (peroxidase and catalase) accompanied with a reduction in lipid peroxidation in the plant