Investigating the priming with salicylic acid on seed germination, seedlIng growth, and fruit quality of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Tina) in the field

Salicylic acid (SA) plays a crucial role in regulating various physiological mechanisms, including; germination, growth, flowering and fruit ripening. Here, the impact of seed priming of tomato (Tina) with SA on indicators of seed germination, seedling growth and quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the fruit was examined under field conditions. The treatments included seed priming in SA solution with zero, 0.10, 0.25 and 0.50 mM for a duration of 24 h. Then, the early seedlings obtained from SA priming (0.25 and 0.50 mM) were grown in the greenhouse and transferred to the field. The results showed that SA led to the significant increase in seed germination properties, also an increase in all the traits of the seedlings, the effect of 0.50 mM was more significant, so that compared to the control, this concentration increased the seed germination percentage and speed (16% and 28 % respectively) and the dry weight of seedling shoot (124%). Moreover, SA contributed to the enhancement of measured field traits and the qualitative of fruit extract, such as carotenoid, ascorbic acid levels, acidity and total soluble solids, and for all traits, except for the number and weight of fruit per plant, no difference was observed between the two concentrations of SA. The highest number and weight of fruit was obtained from the 0.50 mM treatment and the fruit yield increased by 75% compared to the control. Overall, due to the small consumption of chemicals and the ease of used, SA priming will help to reduce production costs.