Poster: Seed biology

Abs # 709: Effects of hydrogen peroxide on germination of Kentucky bluegrass.

Presenter:	Takabe, Tomoko , takamasahamu@yahoo.co.jp
Authors	Takabe, Tomoko  (A)   Uchida, Akio  (A)   Tetsuko, Takabe  (A)
Affiliations:	(A): Nagoya University

It is known that seed germination of a turf, Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), takes more than 3 weeks under cool conditions, although the grass is one of the tolerant turf species to cold stress. That is a serious problem to grow it in cool area. Hydrogen peroxide is known as a signal molecule for abiotic stress tolerance in plants. We have previously reported that hydrogen peroxide enhanced salt and heat tolerance of rice seedlings. So we are interested in examining the effects of hydrogen peroxide on germination of Kentucky bluegrass. We have found that treatment of Kentucky bluegrass’s seeds with hydrogen peroxide of low concentrations increased germination rate and fresh weight of seedlings by 30% and 20%, respectively, compared with those in water without hydrogen peroxide, at 23°C(day) and 18°C(night) for 2 weeks. We also tested the effects of the growth regulators (gibberellin and 6-benzyladenine) on the seed germination. The growth regulators increased germination rate and fresh weight of the seedlings by 50% compared with those in water. When the mixture of hydrogen peroxide and the growth regulators were used, the seed germination and fresh weight of the seedlings were increased by 75% and 144%, respectively, compared with those in water. Our results indicate that hydrogen peroxide treatment in combination with the growth regulators is useful for improvement of the germination of Kentucky bluegrass.