Osmo-priming with a Novel Actives Carrabiitol® Alleviates Abiotic Stresses in Sorghum and Fenugreek: Effect on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth

Background: Abiotic stress is a serious threat to crops as it inhibits the seed germination and seedling growth. Seed treatment with osmolytes and plant growth regulating chemicals found to be effective in mitigating the abiotic stress. In this regard, the study was conducted to evaluate the osmo-priming effect of Carrabiitol®, novel patented(IN) commercial product derived from carrageenan oligosaccharide, on seed germination and seedling growth of sorghum and fenugreek under induced stresses. Methods: The concentration of Carrabiitol® tested for seed priming were 1000, 2000 and 3000 mg/L. The abiotic stresses viz. drought, salinity and excess water stresses, were induced using PEG 6000, sodium chloride and water, respectively. Experiments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Result: The germination percentage, root length and shoot length were reduced in non-primed stressed sorghum and fenugreek seeds (T2) as compared to unstressed seeds. Osmo-priming with 3000 mg/L of Carrabiitol® (T5) was found to be most significant in improving the seed germination and seedling growth of sorghum and fenugreek under the induced stresses (p≤0.05). Overall, the results suggested that application of Carrabiitol® was effective in improving the seed germination and seedling growth of sorghum and fenugreek by alleviating the applied abiotic stresses.