Water and saline stress on germination and growth of white oat seedlings under different temperatures

Salinity and water deficit are among the main stress situations that affect germination and seedling development in the field. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the germination and growth of white oat seedlings subjected to water and saline stress at different temperatures. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design, in a triple factorial arrangement, with two osmotic solutions (PEG 6000 and NaCl), five osmotic potentials (-0.2, -0.4, -0.6 and -0.8 MPa) and two temperatures (20 and 25 °C), with four replications of 50 seeds each. Initially, the water content of the seeds was determined. In the treatment effects, germination, first germination count, shoot length, primary root and seedling fresh mass were evaluated. Osmotic potentials lower than -0.2 MPa reduce the germination and growth of white oat seedlings, regardless of the stressor agent and temperature. The simulations of the stress conditions harmed the germination and the initial growth of the seedlings by the decrease of the observed variables. The salt and water stress induced by sodium chloride solution was more drastic than that induced by polyethylene glycol 6000.