VITAMIN C pretreatments showed pronounced mitigating effects
…..on kidney bean under different temperatures, where the
germination %, seedling gr owth and vigor were significantly
increased, compared with the corresponding results obtained under
exposure to different temperatures without vitamin C pretreatments.
A similar trend was shown with regard to total chlorophyll, total
carbohydrate and soluble protein contents. Lower temperatures as well
as vitamin C pretreatments led to higher accumulation of soluble sugar
contents in seedlings. Proline content was considerably increased by
lower temperature levels and vitamin C pretreatments also enhanced
its increase. Vitamin C was assumed to act synergistically with lower
temperatures in decreasing proline dehydrogenase level. The activity
levels of some hydrolytic enzymes and antioxidant enzymes were
affected by both lower temperatures and vitamin C treatments. Thus,
amylase and protease activities were significantly increased by lower
temperatures and vitamin C pretreatments. Catalase and ascorbate
peroxidase activities were remarkably elevated by decreasing
temperature but were decreased as a result of vitamin C pretreatments.
Higher vitamin C levels were more effective in alleviating the adverse
effects of lower temperature on the above mentioned criteria of the
kidney bean.