Combination Effect of Piriformospora indica, Chilling and Gibberellic Acid on Seed Germination Traits of Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff.

Abstract

<em>Kelussia odoratissima</em> Mozaff. belonging to the Apiaceae family, is well known for its medicinal and nutritional importance, endemic to Iran. Seed dormancy is a major problem present in <em>Kelussia odoratissima</em> leading to low germination percentage; thus, improvement of seed germination and breaking seed dormancy is important. <em>Piriformospora indica</em>, a root-colonizing endophytic fungus, promotes plant growth, development and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In order to evaluate the effects of different treatments of <em>P. indica</em> on seed germination traits of<em> Kelussia odoratissima</em>, an experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design with five treatments and three replications. The experimental treatments were application of fungal mycelium of <em>P. indica </em>(M), spore suspension of <em>P. indica </em>(S), the combination of Gibberellic acid and fungal mycelium (H+M), the combination of Gibberellic acid and spore suspension (H+S), and control (C). Based on the results the highest percentage of germination (75%) and the highest germination rate was related to spore suspension of <em>P. indica</em>. The lowest amount of germination uniformity (GU) observed in spore suspension of <em>P. indica </em>treatment. Among the different treatments, application of <em>P. indica </em>spore suspension resulted in lowest times for 10% germination (D₁₀) and 90% germination (D₉₀). The highest plumule and radicle length observed in spore treatment and in comparison with control, application of spore suspension of <em>P. indica</em> increasedplumule and radicle length by 16% and 32%, respectively. Based on the current results, it seems that spore suspension of <em>P. indica</em> was the best treatment for improvement of seed germination traits.