The effect of seed priming with salicylic acid, potassium nitrate and Iron nano chelate on seed germination of two ecotypes of Plantago major L. under salt stress

Plantago major is one of the most abundant and widely distributed medicinal crops in the world. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of interaction between salt stress and seed priming with Iron nano chelate and salicylic acid on germination of two ecotypes (Ardabil and Karaj) of Plantago major L. Treatments containing priming with salicylic acid (150, 200 and 300 ppm), Iron nano chelate (1000, 2000 and 3000 ppm), potassium nitrate (0.5 and 1 percentage), Hydropriming with distilled water and control (without a Prim) in saline condition stress with four salinity levels of NaCl (0, 1000, 2000 and 3000 ppm). The results showed that as the salt concentration increased, both germination percentage and germination index decreased significantly. Evaluation of all treatments showed that Ardabil ecotype had better germination percentage and germination index. On the other hand, interaction between salicylic acid with 150 ppm and salt stress with low concentrations (0 and 500ppm) had the highest germination percentage and rate.