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Improved Marjoram (Origanum majorana L.) Tolerance to Salinity with Seed Priming Using Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)

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Abstract

Seed priming improves seed germination, plant establishment and growth even under stressful conditions. We studied the effect of seed priming with bulk (2 µm particles) and nanoparticle (13 nm) TiO2 on physiological characteristics, essential oil content and percentage and free radical scavenging activity in marjoram (Origanum majorana L.) under varied salinity conditions. We designed a factorial experiment with two factors and three replications. The first factor included three nanoparticle TiO2 concentrations (20, 40 and 80 mg L−1), three bulk TiO2 concentrations (20, 40 and 80 mg L−1) as seed priming agents and controls. The second factor included the four salinity levels (0, 25, 50 and 75 mM NaCl solution). Results of this study indicated that seed priming with bulk and nanoparticle TiO2 improved free radical scavenging activity and physiological characteristics. Under non-saline conditions, seed priming with 40 mg L−1 of bulk or nanoparticle TiO2 increased free radical scavenging activity significantly. When seeds were primed with 80 mg L−1 of bulk or nanoparticle TiO2, free radical scavenging activity decreased significantly. Under saline conditions, seed priming with 20 and 40 mg L−1 of bulk and nanoparticle TiO2 improved free radical scavenging activity and physiological characteristics of marjoram as compared to non-priming conditions. Our results indicated that seed priming with 20 and 40 mg L−1 of bulk and nanoparticle TiO2 is a practical way to improve seedling growth characteristics of marjoram in saline conditions by improving free radical scavenging activity.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the staff of the University of Hormozgan Plant Physiology Laboratory to collaborate and support them with this study.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran

    Leila Jafari & Farzin Abdollahi

  2. Department of Plant Production, University of Torbat Heydarieh, Torbat Heydarieh, Iran

    Hassan Feizi

  3. Department of Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

    Sina Adl

Authors
  1. Leila Jafari
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  2. Farzin Abdollahi
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  3. Hassan Feizi
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  4. Sina Adl
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Correspondence to Farzin Abdollahi.

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Jafari, L., Abdollahi, F., Feizi, H. et al. Improved Marjoram (Origanum majorana L.) Tolerance to Salinity with Seed Priming Using Titanium Dioxide (TiO2). Iran J Sci Technol Trans Sci 46, 361–371 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40995-021-01249-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40995-021-01249-3

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