Effects of nano-iron priming and biochar encrusting on the salt tolerance of Festuca sinensis at the seed germination and seedling growth stages

doi:10.11686/cyxb2025331

Abstract

Abstract:

The utilization of saline-alkali lands in China’s inland regions has become a focal point in the development and construction of sown grasslands and in ecological restoration. Enhancing seed germination rates and seedling stress tolerance under saline-alkali stress conditions are important factors for successful grassland construction. In this study， Festuca sinensis seeds were treated with nano-iron particle suspensions at concentrations of 50， 75， 100， and 125 mg·L^-1， for 10 or 108 hours during saline-alkali stress （a 75 mmol·L^-1 mixed salt solution of NaCl and Na?SO? at a solution ratio of 5∶1）. In addition， four biochar crust coating treatments were applied （0.35， 0.50， 1.00， and 1.15 g biochar per 5 g bare seeds）. We analyzed and compared the seed germination and seedling growth characteristics of F. sinensis seeds in the various treatments， as well as antioxidant enzyme activity， and determined the optimal conditions for tolerance to saline-alkali stress. The main results were as follows： 1） Treatment with 100 mg·L^-1 nano-iron for 10 h effectively enhanced the germination rate， germination index， and vitality index of F. sinensis seeds. Seeds with a biochar crust （0.50 g biochar per 5 g bare seeds） showed significantly improved seedling emergence rate， emergence speed index， and seedling root length. Multispectral imaging-derived normalized canonical discriminant analyses （nCDA） images correlated with these seed germination traits； the priming treatment （nano-iron particles） and coating treatment （biochar crust） significantly elevated the activities of catalase， peroxidase， monodehydroascorbate reductase， glutathione reductase， and ascorbate peroxidase activity in seedlings， indicating enhanced reactive oxygen species scavenging capacity and improved antioxidant capacity under salt stress. 2） The combination of priming and coating treatments did not have a synergistic effect. Combining the optimal priming and encrusting treatments did not significantly outperform the corresponding single-factor treatments in terms of enhancing seed germination characteristics or seedling antioxidant capacity. Multispectral imaging also failed to reveal further improvements in seedling vigor in the combined treatments compared with the single-factor treatments. The combined treatment showed no significant effect on enhancing the salt tolerance of F. sinensis. Among all the treatments， exposure to 100 mg·L^-1 nano-iron for 10 hours and biochar crust formation with 0.50 g biochar per 5 g bare seeds effectively enhanced the seed germination and seedling vigor of F. sinensis under salt stress. However， the combined treatment did not exhibit synergistic effects.

Key words: Festuca sinensis, nano-iron priming, biochar, salt stress

Ruo-hong LI, Chang-ran LI, Jia-yi FU, Xin-yu HU, Pei-sheng MAO. Effects of nano-iron priming and biochar encrusting on the salt tolerance of Festuca sinensis at the seed germination and seedling growth stages[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2026, 35(8): 32-44.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig.1 Effect of nano-iron priming on the germination characteristics of F. sinensis seeds under salt stress

Fig.2 Effect of biochar encrusting on the germination characteristics of F. sinensis seeds under salt stress

Fig.3 Multispectral imaging of F. sinensis seedlings coated with nano-iron under salt stress and its effects on antioxidant enzyme system

Fig.4 Multispectral imaging of F. sinensis seedlings coated with biochar crusts under salt stress and its effects on antioxidant enzyme system

Fig.5 Effect of nano-iron priming and biochar encrusting combination on the germination characteristics of F. sinensis seeds under salt stress

Fig.6 Multispectral imaging of F. sinensis seedlings and their effects on antioxidant enzyme system under salt stress using the combined treatment of nano-iron priming and biochar encrusting

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