Seedling’s Vigor of Tomato and Paprika Genotypes under a Simulated Model of Multiple Abiotic Stresses and Lower Dosage of Salicylic Acid (C 7 H 6 O 3)

Abstract

Seedling vigor in tomato and paprika is affected by variety. Genotype selection under environmental stresses and its effects on seedling vigor was investigated. During the year 2021, the study was carried out and it revealed an appropriate selection for open field gardeners. The selection of two drought-tolerant, and one non-drought tolerant cultivars was the initial stage. Six commercial genotypes were evaluated (three for tomato and three for paprika). The second phase involved planting cultivars till the cotyledon leaves phase, and the first set of true leaves. Seedlings were investigated under simulated environmental stresses of non-ideal temperatures, low humidity, closed spacing, minimum light dose, nutrient-deficient water, and spraying a lower dosage of salicylic acid. The evaluation of seedling's growth was performed by measuring germination percentage, seedling length, shoot length, root length, seedling fresh weight, seed-ling dry weight, and seedling vigor index. Tomato (Mobil) and paprika (Carma) seedlings outperform other varieties, possibly because of the variety's vigor un-der various stress conditions. These findings reveal that tomato (Mobil) and paprika (Carma) had a positive impact on development and may be raised under optimal conditions of nurseries and then be transferred to open-air environ-mental and biological exposed conditions in Hungary.