Effect of peg-induced drought stress on seed germination and initial growth of three cucumber cultivars

Abstract

As the most common abiotic stress, drought seriously affects crop production. Since the impact of drought stress varies among species, this study aims to evaluate drought tolerance of domestic cucumber cultivars in the initial stages of growth under PEG-induced drought conditions. The germination assay was performed using three different cucumber varieties (Tajfun, Suncani Potok and NS Kir) at four different drought levels (0, -0.15, -0.49, and -1.03 MPa). The results demonstrated that all the tested cucumber cultivars are sensitive to drought during germination and initial plant growth, while the osmotic potential of -0.49 MPa can be considered the tolerance threshold for cucumber.