Kit for the treatment of seeds

Abstract

A kit for preparing an imbibition medium in a treatment for priming seeds, including and configured for a combined application of at least two different agents, the agents being chosen from: a) one or more activators of germination of the seeds, the concentration of the or each of the activators in the imbibition medium being 0.01-10 mM, b) one or more agents capable of providing protection to the seeds and/or the plants resulting therefrom, the concentration in the imbibition medium of the or each of the agents being 0.01-10 mM, and c) one or more regulators of the cellular oxidative mechanisms of the seeds.

Claims

1. A kit for preparing an imbibition medium in a treatment for priming seeds, comprising and configured for a combined application of at least two different agents, said agents being chosen from: a) one or more activators of germination of said seeds, the concentration of the or each of said activators in the imbibition medium being 0.001-10 mM, b) one or more agents capable of providing protection to said seeds and/or the plants resulting therefrom, the concentration in the imbibition medium of the or each of said agents being 0.01-10 mM, and c) one or more regulators of the cellular oxidative mechanisms of said seeds.

2. The kit according to claim 1, wherein further comprising: a) one or more activators of germination of said seeds, the concentration of the or each of said activators in the imbibition medium being 0.01-10 mM, and at least one of the following two agents b) and c): b) one or more agents capable of providing protection to said seeds and/or the plants resulting therefrom, the concentration of the or each of said agents in the imbibition medium being 0.1-10 mM, c) one or more regulators of the cellular oxidative mechanisms of said seeds.

3. The kit according to claim 1, wherein further comprising at least: a) one or more activators of germination of said seeds, the concentration of the or each of said activators in the imbibition medium being 0.01-10 mM, b) one or more agents capable of providing protection to said seeds and/or the plants resulting therefrom, the concentration of the or each of said agents in the imbibition medium being 0.1-10 mM, and c) one or more regulators of the cellular oxidative mechanisms of said seeds.

4. The kit according to claim 1, wherein the germination activator(s) a) is/are chosen from dormancy inhibitors.

5. The kit according to claim 4, wherein the germination activator(s) a) is/are chosen from activators of the catabolism of the abscisic acid and activators of hormones.

6. The kit according to claim 4, wherein the germination activator(s) a) is/are chosen from stimulators of the production of nitric oxide, as well as mixtures thereof.

7. The kit according to claim 6, wherein the germination activator(s) a) is/are chosen from nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, sulphates, ethylene, precursors of ethylene, ammonium salts, as well as mixtures thereof.

8. The kit according to claim 1, wherein the germination activator(s) a) is/are chosen from nitrates, phosphates and sulphates, in a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.1 to 10 mM.

9. The kit according to claim 1, wherein the germination activator(s) a) is/are chosen from potassium nitrate at a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.1-10 mM, calcium nitrate at a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.1-10 mM, magnesium sulphate at a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.1-10 mM, monobasic potassium phosphate at a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.1-10 mM, potassium hydrogen phosphate at a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.1-10 mM, gibberellic acid at a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.01-1 mM and sodium nitroprusside at a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.01-1 mM.

10. The kit according to claim 1, wherein the agent(s) b) is/are chosen from the stimulators of the natural defenses of the seeds and the stimulators of the natural defenses of the plants resulting from said seeds, in response to a biotic stress and/or an abiotic stress.

11. The kit according to claim 10, wherein the stimulators of the natural defenses of the seeds are chosen from molecules of the salicylate family, at a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.05-3 mM, the derivatives of salicylic acid and acibenzolar-S-methyl.

12. The kit according to claim 11, wherein the derivatives of salicylic acid are chosen from sulfosalicylic acid and methyl salicylate, and are in a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.1-5 mM.

13. The kit according to claim 1, wherein the regulator of the cellular oxidative mechanisms c) is chosen from osmoprotectors and antioxidants.

14. The kit according to claim 13, wherein the osmoprotectors are chosen from proline in a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.1-30 mM, trehalose, aminobutyric acid, reducing sugars, as well as mixtures thereof.

15. The kit according to claim 13, wherein the antioxidants are chosen from ascorbic acid and its salts, in a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.05-150 mM, reduced glutathione in a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.01-5 mM, tocopherols in a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.05-30 mM and tocopherol acetate in a concentration in the imbibition medium of 0.05-30 mM.

16. A method for treatment of seeds comprising the following steps: the seeds are imbibed in an imbibition medium obtainable from a kit according to any one of claims 1 to 15, then the seeds thus imbibed are dehydrated.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the seeds are imbibed by impregnation or spraying with one or more liquid solutions of said agents a), b) and/or c).

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the seeds are chosen from the seeds of cultivated or cultivable plant species.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the seeds are chosen from vegetable seeds, aromatic seeds, floral seeds and field seeds.

20. A kit as defined in claim 1, configured for treatment of seeds intended to be stored before being sown.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] The various aspects of the disclosure are illustrated in the following examples from which its advantages and benefits will emerge, with the support of the appended figures according to which:

[0045] FIG. 1 represents a comparison of the germination kinetics of tomato seeds untreated and treated according to the disclosure in Example 1.

[0046] FIG. 2 represents a comparison of the germination kinetics of mint seeds untreated and treated according to the disclosure in Example 2.

[0047] FIG. 3 represents a comparison of the germination kinetics of tomato seeds untreated and treated according to the disclosure in Example 3.

[0048] FIG. 4 represents a comparison of the germination kinetics of lettuce seeds untreated and treated according to a treatment outside the disclosure illustrated in Example 4, for comparison purposes.

[0049] FIG. 5 represents a comparison of the germination kinetics of lettuce seeds untreated and treated according to the disclosure in Example 5.

[0050] FIG. 6 represents a comparison of the germination kinetics of lettuce seeds untreated and treated according to the disclosure in Example 6.

[0051] FIG. 7 represents a comparison of the germination kinetics of tomato seeds treated according to the disclosure in Example 7 and treated by a treatment outside the disclosure (hydro-priming) for comparison purposes, after 18 months of storage.

[0052] FIG. 8 represents a comparison of the germinative capacity of seeds 7 days after the germination of lettuce grains treated according to the disclosure in Example 8 and treated by a treatment outside the disclosure (hydro-priming) for comparison purposes, after a controlled deterioration treatment.

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

[0053] In these examples, the abbreviations used are defined below: [0054] GSH: reduced glutathione [0055] ASA: ascorbic acid [0056] GA4: gibberellin [0057] Pro: proline [0058] KNO.sub.3: potassium nitrate [0059] Ca(NO.sub.3).sub.2: calcium nitrate [0060] MgSO.sub.4: magnesium sulphate [0061] NH.sub.4SO.sub.4: ammonium sulphate [0062] KH.sub.2PO.sub.4: monobasic potassium phosphate [0063] K.sub.2HPO.sub.4: potassium hydrogen phosphate [0064] SA: salicylic acid [0065] SNP: sodium nitroprusside

[0066] Each example 1-6 illustrates the implementation of a kit according to the disclosure in a treatment for priming grains comprising imbibition and drying, then the germination of the grains thus treated, and the comparison with grains not treated.

[0067] Example 7 illustrates the implementation of a kit according to the disclosure in a treatment for priming grains comprising imbibition and drying, their storing for a period of 18 months and then germinating the grains thus treated, and comparing with grains treated by hydro-priming (outside the disclosure) in an imbibition medium consisting only of water and having undergone the same storage conditions.

[0068] Example 8 illustrates the implementation of a kit according to the disclosure in a treatment for priming grains comprising imbibition and drying, their controlled deteriorating to assess their storage performance and then germinating the grains thus treated, and comparing with grains treated by hydro-priming (outside the disclosure) in an imbibition medium consisting only of water and having undergone the same controlled deterioration conditions.

[0069] The protocol of the general treatment followed in the examples consists in preparing the imbibition medium by solubilizing the agents a), b) and/or c) of a kit of the disclosure in water and allowing the grains to be permeated therein for a period of 4 h to 336 h at temperatures between 4 and 50° C.

[0070] The grains are then dried under a constant stream of air for a period of 2 h to 96 h in temperatures between 4 and 50° C. and a relative humidity between 15% and 90%.

[0071] The protocol of germination of the grains, whether treated or not, is the same for all the examples. 100 grains are germinated on an AnchorBlue type filter paper (10×16 cm) imbibed to saturation with reverse osmosis water. The germination tests are conducted for each condition with 4 replicates, representing at least 400 grains tested per condition. The germination rate is determined by the ratio of the number of germinated grains to the number of total grains.

[0072] The different steps of the protocol followed are detailed below.

[0073] Imbibition or Wetting Dry Seeds:

[0074] This step is carried out with an aqueous solution comprising at least two of the agents a), b) and c) as specified in each of the examples.

[0075] The duration of the treatment is greater than 4 h; for tomatoes, it is generally 104 h.

[0076] The temperature is maintained between 2° C. and 40° C.

[0077] Drying Seeds:

[0078] After imbibition in the aqueous solution, the seeds are rinsed with water and then dried under a stream of air at room temperature for 3 days.

[0079] The seeds thus dried are stored, before/after treatment, at a temperature lower than 10° C.

[0080] The protocol for controlled deterioration of grains treated according to a method of the disclosure or treated by hydro-priming is composed of three phases and is carried out on re-dried treated grains. The first phase, called the balancing phase, consists in putting the dry treated grains at a temperature of 20° C. and a relative humidity of 76% for 3 days. The second phase, called the deterioration phase, consists in transferring the grains that have undergone the first phase at a temperature of 40° C. and a relative humidity of 76% for 0, 2, 3 or 6 days. The third phase, called the rebalancing phase, consists in transferring the grains that have undergone the second phase at a temperature of 20° C. and a relative humidity of 32% for 3 days. The resulting grains are stored at a temperature of 10° C. and then germinated. The grains annotated “t0” correspond to grains that have only undergone the balancing and rebalancing phase of the controlled deterioration protocol. The grains annotated “t2”, “t3” and “t6” correspond to grains having undergone respectively 2, 3 and 6 days of deterioration phase.

Example 1: Use of a Kit According to the Disclosure for a Treatment for Priming Tomato Grains, Comprising Agents a) and c)

[0081] The imbibition medium is an aqueous solution of the following germination activating agents a) 0.5-5 mM KNO.sub.3+0.1-5 mM MgSO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM NH.sub.4SO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM KH.sub.2PO.sub.4, and of the following cellular oxidative metabolism regulating agents c) 1-50 mM ASA+1-5 mM GSH+1-20 mM Pro.

[0082] The thus pretreated grains and untreated grains are germinated according to the protocol described above carried out at 25° C. in continuous light. The germination kinetics of tomato seeds untreated (black) and treated according to the disclosure (grey) are represented in FIG. 1.

Example 2: Use of a Kit According to the Disclosure for a Treatment for Priming Mint Seeds, Comprising Agents a) and c)

[0083] The imbibition medium is a solution of the following germination activating agents a) 0.5-5 mM KNO.sub.3+0.1-5 mM MgSO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM NH.sub.4SO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM KH.sub.2PO.sub.4+0.05-0.5 mM GA4+0.05-0.5 mM SNP, and of the following cellular oxidative metabolism regulator, 1-20 mM Pro.

[0084] The thus pretreated grains and untreated grains are germinated according to the protocol described above carried out at 25° C. in the dark.

[0085] The germination kinetics of spearmint seeds untreated (black) and treated according to the disclosure (grey) are represented in FIG. 2.

Example 3: Use of a Kit According to the Disclosure for a Treatment for Priming Tomato Grains, Comprising Agents a), b) and c)

[0086] The imbibition medium is a solution of the following germination activating agents a) 0.5-5 mM KNO.sub.3+0.1-5 mM MgSO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM NH.sub.4SO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM KH.sub.2PO.sub.4, of the following agent capable of providing protection to the seeds or the plants resulting therefrom b) 0.1-5 mM SA, and of the following cellular oxidative metabolism regulators c) 1-50 mM ASA+1-5 mM GSH+1-20 mM Pro.

[0087] The germination kinetics of tomato seeds untreated (black) and treated according to the disclosure (grey) are represented in FIG. 3.

Example 4: Use of a Kit for a Treatment for Priming Lettuce Grains, Comprising Agents a)

[0088] This example does not illustrate the disclosure, Examples 5 and 6 are mentioned for comparison purposes, highlighting the fact that the agents b) and c) have no antagonistic effects on the action of the agents a).

[0089] The imbibition medium is an aqueous solution of the following germination activators a) 0.5-5 mM KNO.sub.3+0.1-5 mM MgSO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM NH.sub.4SO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM KH.sub.2PO.sub.4.

[0090] The germination kinetics of lettuce seeds untreated (black) and treated according to the disclosure (grey) are represented in FIG. 4.

Example 5: Use of a Kit According to the Disclosure for a Treatment for Priming Lettuce Grains, Comprising Agents a) and b)

[0091] The imbibition medium is an aqueous solution of the following germination activators a) 0.5-5 mM KNO.sub.3+0.1-5 mM MgSO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM NH.sub.4SO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM KH.sub.2PO.sub.4, and of the agent capable of providing protection to the seeds or the plants resulting therefrom b), 0.1-5 mM SA.

[0092] The germination kinetics of lettuce seeds untreated (black) and treated according to the disclosure (grey) are represented in FIG. 5.

Example 6: Use of a Kit According to the Disclosure for a Treatment for Priming Lettuce Grains, Comprising Agents a) and c)

[0093] The imbibition medium is an aqueous solution of the following germination activators a) 0.5-5 mM KNO.sub.3+0.1-5 mM MgSO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM NH.sub.4SO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM KH.sub.2PO.sub.4, and of the following cellular oxidative mechanism regulators c) 1-50 mM ASA+1-5 mM GSH.

[0094] The germination kinetics of lettuce seeds untreated (black) and treated according to the disclosure (grey) are represented in FIG. 6.

Example 7: Use of a Kit According to the Disclosure for a Treatment for Priming Tomato Grains, Comprising Agents a) and c)

[0095] The imbibition medium is an aqueous solution of the following germination activators a) 0.5-5 mM KNO.sub.3+0.1-5 mM MgSO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM NH.sub.4SO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM KH.sub.2PO.sub.4, and of the following cellular oxidative mechanism regulators c) 1-50 mM ASA+1-5 mM GSH+1-20 mM Pro.

[0096] The germination kinetics of tomato seeds treated by hydro-priming (grey) and treated by smart priming according to the disclosure (black) are represented in FIG. 7.

[0097] After 18 months of storage, the performance of the germination of the grains having been subjected to a priming treatment according to the disclosure is observed in comparison with that of grains having been treated by hydro-priming.

Example 8: Use of a Kit According to the Disclosure for a Treatment for Priming Lettuce Grains, Comprising Agents a), b) and c)

[0098] The imbibition medium is an aqueous solution of the following germination activators a) 0.5-5 mM KNO.sub.3+0.5-5 mM Ca(NO.sub.3).sub.2+0.1-5 mM MgSO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM NH.sub.4SO.sub.4+0.1-5 mM KH.sub.2PO.sub.4, of the following agent capable of providing protection to the seeds or the plants resulting therefrom b) 0.1-5 mM SA, and of the following cellular oxidative mechanism regulators c) 1-50 mM ASA+1-5 mM GSH.

[0099] The germinative capacities 7 days after the germination of lettuce seeds treated by hydro-priming (grey) and treated by smart priming according to the disclosure (black) are represented in FIG. 8. The germinative capacities correspond to those of grains treated by hydro-priming and treated by smart priming according to the disclosure and having undergone a controlled deterioration protocol. The results present the germinative capacities of seeds deteriorated for 0 days (t0), 2 days (t2), 3 days (t3) or 6 days (t6).

[0100] After protocol of controlled deterioration of the seeds, the performance of the grains having been subjected to a priming treatment according to the disclosure is observed in comparison with that of grains having been treated by hydro-priming.