Effects of PEG-Induced Drought Stress and Different Boron Levels on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth Characteristics in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

Abstract

In the present study, the drought tolerance potential of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) seeds under different boron (B) levels were assessed. One chickpea (Azkan) and one lentil cultivar (Sahan) were selected for the genetic material. To provide drought condition, different level of polyethylene glycol solution (PEG 6000) was applied to seeds. Germination experiments were performed under PEG-induced stress to create water potentials of 0 (control), -2, and -4 MPa. Then, boron was applied as H3BO3 at 0 (control), 5, and 10 mM. The effects of these abiotic stresses were determined with the measurement parameters of germination rate and root traits. Drought stress adversely affected germination rate and seedling growth characteristics in chickpea and lentil. Especially, seed germination rate is extremely reduced by increased levels of drought stress. An increase in PEG levels from 0 to -4 MPa drastically decreased root and shoot width, and shoot length in chickpea whereas they did not generate a significant difference in seedling growth traits except for root width in lentil. Additionally, the results showed that increasing B treatments decreased the germination rate in both chickpea and lentil. The low concentration of B (5 mM) increased root and shoot length; however, a remarkable decrease was observed in root and shoot growth traits at the highest concentration of B (10 mM). The overall findings show that germination and seedling growth parameters were greatly inhibited by different concentrations of PEG and > 10 mM B levels for chickpea and lentil production.