Hormonal priming to overcome drought stress and aging damage in groundnut seed (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Groundnut seed priming was performed with an aqueous solution of gibberellic acid (GA3) (0, 50, 100, and 150 ppm for 18h) and accelerated aging (96 h) was done prior to drought stress (-0.4, -0.6, and -0.8 MPa), then recovered. Investigated traits were germination percentage, mean germination time, germination rate, vigor index, plumule length, radicle length, seedling length, malondialdehyde content, antioxidant enzymes activities (CAT, SOD, and APX), soluble sugars, and protein content. In comparison with the control group, hormonal priming mitigated the negative effects of both aging and drought stress significantly. When seeds were recovered, hormonal priming was more effective. The obtained results showed that seed priming with GA3 performed after the accelerated aging had more pronounced effect on all parameters of recovered seeds. Hence, priming with 100 ppm of GA3 is suggested.