Effects of soaking seeds with salicylic acid on seed germination and drought resistance of Lolium perenne seedlings

The 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 mmol/L salicylic acid (SA) were used to soak seeds of Lolium perenne for determining the effects of soaking seeds on seed germination and drought resistance of seedlings. This study showed that the seeds of L. perenne treated by 0.25~0.75 mmol/L SA increased the germination percentage, germination energy of the seeds and the fresh and dry weights of seedlings, and seed germination was the biggest when seeds were treated by 0.5 mmol/L SA. Under water stress, 0.5 mmol/L SA inhibited the permeability of plasma membrane, increased the accumulation of Malondiald Ehyde (MDA) and proline content, encouraged the activities of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Peroxidase (POD) to increase in the L. perenne, and kept the activity of Catase (CAT) stable. This study suggested that SA could mitigate the water stress.