Finance

Crop

Sowing

Striga

Seedling

Seed treatment

Agronomy

Biology

Gene

Germination

Abiotic component

Horticulture

Paleontology

Radicle

Economics

Polyethylene glycol

Abiotic stress

PEG ratio

Biochemistry

Priming (agriculture)

Abiotic stresses such as drought, extreme temperature, and salinity can negatively impact seed germination and plant growth and have become major limitations to crop production. Most crops are vulnerable to abiotic stress factors during their early growth phase, especially during seed germination and seedling emergence. Rapid crop seed germination and seedling establishment is known to provide competitive advantages over weeds and improve yields. Seed osmopriming is defined as a pre-sowing treatment in which seeds are soaked in osmotic solutions to undergo the first stage of germination, but radicle protrusion has not occurred. The process of osmopriming involves prior exposure of seeds in low-water-potential solutions. Osmopriming can generate a series of pre-germination metabolic activities, increase the antioxidant system activities, and prepare the seed for radicle protrusion. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a popular osmopriming agent that can alleviate the negative impacts of abiotic stresses. This review summarizes research findings on crop responses to seed priming with PEG under abiotic stresses. The challenges, limitations, and opportunities of using PEG for crop seed priming are discussed with the goal of providing insights into future research towards effective application of seed priming in crop production.

Osmopriming with Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Germinating Crop Seeds: A Review