Alleviation of Salt-Inhibited Germination and Seedling Growth of Kidney Bean by Seed Priming and Exogenous Application of Salicylic Acid (SA) and Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2)

Salinity is a dominant obstacle to the proper germination of seeds, growth of seedlings, and, consequently, the production of crops. The priming of seeds with different treating agents can efficiently impart salinity tolerance. Kidney bean is a nutritious and popular vegetable crop in the world. Literature shows that salt stress negatively disturbs the germination and growth of kidney beans. In the present research, we investigated the potentiality of salicylic acid (SA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as priming and exogenous agents to alleviate the salinity-inhibited germination and growth of kidney beans. The seeds were pretreated with SA (1 mM and 2 mM) and H2O2 (0.1 mM and 0.15 mM) and soaked in normal tap water (hydro-priming) for 60 min. In addition,…