Evaluation of SiO2 Nanoparticle Effects on Seed Germination in Astragalus squarrosus

Improving seed germination rate accelerates the early seedling establishment which in turn, enhances the plant growth and forage production in rangelands and pastures. Rapid and simultaneous germination of seeds leads to successful plant establishment. The ingoing research aims to deal with the effects of SiO2 nanoparticles at the concentrations of 0, 5, 20, 40, 60 and 80 mg/l on seed germination rate in Astragalus squarrosus. The experiment was conducted for 15 days under constant temperature of 20 °C for 16 and 8 hours at light and dark, respectively. The treatments were arranged as factorial ones based on a completely randomized design with four replicates in Department of Natural Resources at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. The results of experiment showed that the germination percent of scarified seeds treated with SiO2 nanoparticles with 40ppm concentration was improved as compared to control seeds and non-scarified ones treated with nanoparticles. At the same time, some other positive effects of other nanoparticle concentrations on germination rate and percent were obvious so that the effects of different concentrations of nanoparticles on seed germination traits of Astragalus squarrosus were found to be significant. The highest and lowest germination percent was recorded under the concentrations of 40 ppm and 80 ppm for those seeds treated with nanoparticles, respectively. As SiO2 concentration increased, no enhancing positive effect on seed germination attributes of Astragalus squarrosus was found. In this experiment, it was found that seeds scarified and treated with 40 or 60 mg/l of SiO2 nanoparticles showed the improved germination in Astragalus squarrosus; so, this treatment can be promising for the establishment and colonization of this species in natural landscapes.