Background: Salinity stress has a harmful effect on almost all cucumber growth stages, especially germination stage. For this, nutrient seed priming in nanofertilizers may be a promising approach to cope the deleterious effects of salinity on plant growth and development.
Aims: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of cucumber seed priming in synthesized nanofertilizers under salt stress conditions.
Methods: Cucumber seeds were primed in fresh water, bulkfertilizers of (NPK), and nanofertilizers (50%, 25%, and 12.5%) as a percentage of bulk fertilizers. Five salinity levels (freshwater: seawater) (0.7, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10dSm-1) were used to irrigate seedlings for 7 days.
Results: Obtained results revealed that increasing salinity levels significantly diminished radicle and plumule lengths, seedling fresh and dry weights, germination percentage, radicle surface area, radicle length reduction/ increase (RLR%), salt tolerance and vigor index. In contrast, the radicle radius was increased. Priming seeds in nanofertilizers improved the percentage of seed germination, lengths of radicle and plumule seedlings, fresh and dry weights of seedlings, radicle surface area, RLR%, salt tolerance, and vigor index, while decreased radicle radius compared to fresh water and bulk fertilizers.
Conclusions: Occurred results concluded that, priming seeds in nanofertilizers decreased the harmful effect of salinity and it was a successful technique in alleviating salt stress in cucumber seedlings through germination stage.