Seed priming strategies of Hordeum vulgare L. as a sustainable approach to alleviate drought stress

Hordeum vulgare L. (Barley) is an essential economic cereal crop used mainly in breads and health products. This study focuses on applying different priming strategies to barley seeds to alleviate drought stress, which poses a serious threat to crop production. Seed priming techniques in the current experiments include hydropriming with water, phytopriming using Asphodelus microcarpus L. aqueous extract (5 and 10%), halopriming using zinc chloride (1, 0.25, and 0.05gm/L), and nanopriming using zinc oxide nanoparticles (1, 0.25, and 0.05gm/L). These strategies were applied under different field capacity levels (80, 60, and 40%). Percentage of germination, germination energy, germination velocity, shoot and root length, vigor index, and leaf area, as well as protein patterns, were estimated at vegetative stage. The study’s findings revealed that several priming strategies considerably increased Hordeum vulgare L. drought resistance by improving germination parameters, plant establishment, and overall plant development under drought conditions. Furthermore, the study evaluated whether changes in protein patterns could induce drought tolerance through different treatments. The seed priming strategies examined in this work have shown significant potential in relieving drought stress in barley. More research is needed to determine the best priming techniques for different barley varieties and to evaluate their long-term impact on crop performance.