Discriminating among Alternative Dressing Solutions for Cereal Seed Treatment: Effect on Germination and Seedling Vigor of Durum Wheat

Abstract

A prompt seed germination and emergence coupled with an excellent seedling vigor are highly desired features to ensure perfect crop establishment and subsequent vegetative growth. Seed dressing with pesticides represents the most common technology for enhancing seed performance after sowing, while little is known about biostimulant seed dressing. This practice could play a fundamental role in developing new sustainable starter fertilization for cereals. The enhancement of germination and seedling vigor of durum wheat seeds (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn) was the main target of this research. The experiment took place in a germination cabinet under controlled environmental conditions, settled at the constant temperature of 10 °C and under dark conditions for 8 days. The different seed dressings, sprayed on the seeds, were composed by a combination of a fungicide and different biostimulants. Coleoptile and root length, as well as biomass, were significantly increased by the different biostimulants, compared to the control. As for germination traits, seeds treated with Codium fragile and Opuntia ficus-indica extracts, containing phytohormones and different nutrients, showed a final germination (96%) significantly higher than the one obtained with the control treatment (86%). These results show that treating seeds with a suitable dressing solution can greatly improve the germination features and seedling vigor of durum wheat. This can help the crop to withstand future stresses, especially in early stages, and possibly increase the grain yield with a reduction in agrochemicals. However, the combination of the substances used in the present study rarely showed a synergistic effect on the tested variable.