Physiological potential of pepper seeds hydroprimed and primed with 24-epibrassinolide and subjected to salt stress¹

ABSTRACT

The 24-epibrassinolide (24-EpiBL), in association with the physiological conditioning of seeds, is recognized for providing several advantages in seeds, among which the most important one is the tolerance to abiotic stresses. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the vigor of pepper seeds primed with 24-EpiBL and then subjected to salt stress. Three lots of pepper seeds of the cultivar Airetama Biquinho Amarela were used. The research was divided into three steps: the first for initial characterization of seed lots upon germination and vigor tests; the second for defining the water absorption process and drying of primed seeds; and the third for the priming of seeds with water (hydropriming) and 24-EpiBL (10^-8 M), as well as priming with 24-EpiBL (10^-8 M) of seeds subjected to the salt stress with the following osmotic potentials: 0.0, -0.2, and -0.4 MPa. A mitigation of deleterious effects of salt stress was found in seeds hydro-primed and primed with 24-EpiBL. The use of pepper seeds hydro-primed and primed with 24-EpiBL (10^-8 M) is a viable alternative for decreasing injuries, morphological and biochemical changes, and growth and development limitations caused by salt stress.

Keywords
brassinosteroid; Capsicum chinense Jacq.; Priming ; abiotic stress; vigor tests