Promotion of Seedling Growth of Seeds of Rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Hitomebore) by Treatment with H2O2 before Sowing

High germinability of seeds and establishment of young seedlings in rice (Oryza sativa L.) are necessary for direct seeding in paddy fi elds. We investigated whether germinability and seedling growth were promoted by treatment of rice seeds (cv. Hitomebore) with hydrogen peroxide solution (H2O2) during the imbibition for 24 h. H2O2 treatment with 50 mM H2O2 promoted seed germination, and seedling growth (shoot length, root length and shoot fresh weight) in agar culture under a low temperature condition (18°C day/14°C night). Seedling growth was promoted by H2O2 treatment not only under the low-temperature condition but also under a normal (23°C day/18°C night) temperature condition. Furthermore, H2O2 treatment promoted seedling growth under a fl ooding condition in a greenhouse. These results suggest that H2O2 treatment of rice seeds during the imbibition is advantageous for direct seeding. We discussed the relation between the promotion of the seed germinability and the seedling growth under a low-temperature condition, and the expression of some genes encoding ROS scavenger enzymes induced by H2O2 treatment.