Effects of Electromagnetic Field and Nutri-Priming with Spirulina on Tomato Seed Germination Pre-Treatment NaCl and PEG-6000

Vollständiger Abstract

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Due to the degradation of agricultural soils due to saline stress and water stress, which affect 34.9% and 44.8% of the Mexican territory, respectively, tomato production is compromised. Consequently, there is a growing interest in strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of abiotic stress. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and nutri-priming with Spirulina on seed germination of Cherry and Roma tomato varieties. The seeds were pre-treated with either NaCl or PEG-6000 (an osmotic agent) for one hour, and the experiment followed a completely randomized block design with five replicates. The results indicate that, prior to pre-treatment with NaCl, EMF increased the germination percentage in Roma tomatoes (17%) compared to control seeds (6%). Similarly, under PEG-6000 pre-treatment, the electromagnetic field yielded a significant difference (p < 0.05) in germination percentage, while the combined treatment (EMF + nutri-priming) increased the mean germination time in Cherry tomatoes. It is concluded that germination is influenced by the interaction between the tomato variety, the pre-treatment (NaCl or PEG-6000) and the treatment applied (EMF, nutri-priming, or both). The EMF treatment showed the highest germination rate in the Roma variety following pre-treatment with NaCl. Meanwhile, the NP-SP treatment performed best on the same variety, but under conditions without pre-treatment and with PEG-6000 pre-treatment. Ultimately, the combined treatment (NP-SP + EMF) achieved the best results with the Cherry variety under conditions involving NaCl pre-treatment.