Gibberellic acid provides greater tolerance to saline stress in cactus seed germination

Abstract

It is important to understand the ecophysiological behavior and develop techniques applicable to conservation measures of species that inhabit arid and semi-arid ecosystem and are exposed to adverse environmental conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of gibberellic acid (GA3) application during seed germination under saline stress conditions of a cactus. Pilosocereus gounellei susbp gounellei seeds were submitted to NaCl saline solutions at osmotic potentials of 0.0, -0.3, -0.6 and -0.9 MPa. For each osmotic potential, GA3 concentrations of 0, 100, 200 and 300 ppm were used. The results indicated that salt stress reduces germination percentage and synchronization as seeds are submitted to more negative osmotic potentials, as well as delaying germination time. However, this negative effect of NaCl was reversed when the seeds were subjected to the specific concentration of 100 ppm of gibberellic acid. Therefore, our study demonstrated that the application of GA3 at specific concentration improves the germinative metabolism of cactus seeds and promotes the acquisition of tolerance to saline stress conditions by increasing germinability, reducing germination time and increasing synchronization, thus representing a viable technique for seed germination and seedlings production under adverse environmental conditions. Highlighted Conclusions 1. The application of GA3 at specific concentration improves the germinative metabolism of cactus seeds and promotes the acquisition of tolerance to saline stress conditions. 2. The application of GA3 represents a viable technique for seed germination and seedlings production under adverse environmental conditions.