Growth and photosynthetic characteristics of Nigella sativa L. as affected by presowing seed treatment with kinetin

Abstract

Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) seeds were surface-sterilized and soaked for 5, 10, or 15 h in 1, 10, or 100 μM aqueous solution of kinetin (KIN). The potted plants were then analyzed at 30, 50, and 70 days after emergence (DAE) for dry mass (DM), leaf area (LA), chlorophyll (Chl) content, stomatal conductance (gs), carbonic anhydrase (CA), and nitrate reductase (NR) activity, total protein content, and net photosynthetic rate (PN). Capsule number and seed yield were determined at harvest (90 DAE). Treatment with the growth regulator was found to appreciably enhance all the determinants, with most prominent results being obtained following 10-h soaking with 10 μM KIN, in which case the values for DM, LA, PN, CA and NR activity, and seed yield were elevated by 55, 63, 43, 38, 29, and 23% respectively over the control at the 50-day stage. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.