Abstract
Excess amounts of reactive oxygen species are toxic to plant cells, while it has been shown that adequate degree of oxidative states sometimes promote growth and development of many plat species. Here we examined the effect of H2O2 treatment on germination and post-germinative growth of soybean.
We observed promotion of soybean germination by imbibing seeds in H2O2 solution. This promotion was observed on various soybean cultivars with different seed characteristics. No inhibition of germination was observed in our experimental conditions. H2O2-treated seeds were more vigorously germinated than those imbibed in oxygen-bubbled water. Thus, H2O2 treatment promoted soybean seed germination through positive effect other than O2 formation by catalse(-like) reaction(s).
Post-germinative growth of soybean is retarded in anaerobic conditions. In low oxygen environment (4 to 5% O2), H2O2-treated seeds were grown better than those imbibed in water, suggesting that H2O2 treatment also promotes post-germinative growth of soybean under anaerobic conditions.
