Fig 1.
Effects of SMP on cauliflower and broccoli seed germination at 10, 15, 20, and 25°C.
(A and B) Germination vigor, (C and D) germination rate, (E and F) vigor index, and (G and H) mean germination time. The nonprimed (NP) and SM-primed (SMP) seeds were germinated on wet filter papers inside plastic boxes for 7 days at 10, 15, 20, and 25°C, respectively. Different small letters indicate significant differences between the treatments (P < 0.05).
Fig 2.
Effects of SMP on the early growth of cauliflower and broccoli seedlings at 10, 15, 20, and 25°C.
(A and B) Root length, and (C and D) fresh weight. The seeds of cauliflower and broccoli were germinated as described in Fig 1.
Fig 3.
Effects of SMP on four antioxidant enzymes activities in the germinating cauliflower and broccoli seeds incubated at 10, 15, 20, and 25°C.
(A and B) Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, (C and D) peroxidase (POD) activity, (E and F) catalase (CAT) activity, and (G and H) ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity. In this experiment, cauliflower and broccoli seeds were germinated as described in Fig 1. The activities of SOD, POD, CAT, and APX in the nonprimed (NP) and SM-primed (SMP) germinating seeds were determined 17 h after incubation for broccoli and 24 h after incubation for cauliflower. Each treatment had three biological replicates in this study.
Fig 4.
Images of emergences of nonprimed (NP) or solid matrix primed (SMP) cauliflower and broccoli seeds.
(A) Emergence of broccoli seeds. (B) Emergence of cauliflower seeds. Images were taken 16 days after sowing. The emergence test using nonprimed control seeds and SM-primed seeds of cauliflower and broccoli was performed in a glasshouse. For each treatment, 2 biological replicates with 50 seeds each were sown in a glasshouse.
Table 1.
Effects of SMP on cauliflower and broccoli seed emergence.