Potassium nitrate alters buffalograss bur permeability

Abstract

Buffalograss is a warm-season, dioecious grass species yielding burs, which are routinely used for field plantings. The pistillate plants bear the burs containing 1-5 caryopses. Isolated caryopses readily germinate, but caryopses contained within burs exhibit strong dormancy, suggesting that burs inhibit germination. Priming burs with low concentrations of potassium nitrate (KNO3) is used as an industry standard to improve germination. Seed dormancy and germination in many species are strongly influenced by endogenous hormone levels, principally abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA). It follows that buffalograss seed dormancy might be induced or overcome by altering the ratio of ABA to GA. The objectives of this research were 1) to contrast the effects of priming with KNO3 or water on bur germination, 2) to study how these treatments affected hormone profiles, specifically the ABA/GA ratios in the burs, and 3) to quantify treatment effects on the water permeability of the burs. Hormone profiles were analyzed following four postharvest seed-soaking treatments (24-hour 0.05 M KNO3, 24-hour H2O, 48-hour 0.05 M KNO3, and 48-hour H2O). Water infiltration tests on nontreated, 24-hour H2O-treated, and 24-hour 0.05 M KNO3-treated seeds were also conducted. Inconclusive hormone profiling results did not support the hypothesis that KNO3 postharvest treatment raises GA levels to encourage germination. Instead, our data support changes in seed morphology following KNO3 postharvest seed treatments which alter water permeability of the seedcoat leading to increased germination.