Kamil Haliloglu

Hydro- and osmopriming improve chickpea germination

Abstract The effects of different priming treatments and durations on germination percentage, speed, synchrony and thermal time requirement of the seeds of chickpea were investigated. Seeds were osmoprimed in four water potentials (−0.5, −1.0, −1.5 and −2.0 MPa) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) or in 4% mannitol in addition to hydropriming for 12 or 24 h at 25±1°C in darkness. Following priming, the seeds were subjected to germination tests at ten different constant temperatures ranging from 5 to 32±0.5°C. In general, there was no significant effect of priming treatments on germination percentage. However, compared to unprimed seeds, hydropriming and osmopriming treatments induced faster and more synchronous germination at all of the temperatures tested and also significantly decreased thermal time requirements. These reductions in thermal time requirements ranged between 18.1°C d and 30.3°C d for 50% germination. Seeds treated with water for 12 h generally produced the highest germination speed and the lowest thermal time requirement values. Among the osmopriming treatments, seeds treated with −0.5 MPa solution of PEG for 24 h gave the best results. Consequently, hydropriming for 12 h or osmopriming (PEG −0.5 MPa) for 24 h may be recommended for a better germination of chickpeas under cold soil conditions.

Relationship between tissue culture and agronomic traits of winter wheat

Twenty-five winter wheat cultivars (cv.s) were evaluated for their ability to produce embryogenic callus, eventually plantlets, as well as the agronomic performance in the field to determine the relationship between tissue culture and agronomic traits. There were significant genotype effects on callus formation, callus fresh and dry weight, callus moisture content, embryogenic calli formation and the frequency of plant regeneration. Relationship between tissue culture and agronomic traits was examined by correlation and regression analysis. Important relationships between the two traits were found such as the frequency of plantlets regeneration from immature embryos could be estimated from spike number per m2. Such relationships may be due to the fact that plantlets regeneration might be controlled by the genetic system controlling the incidence of spike number per m2 or partial linkage with it. This result suggests that it is possible to screen genotypes with good tissue culture traits directly at the agronomic trait level, a practice rather simple and straightforward.

Improvement of yield and botanical composition in meadows: effects of N fertilisation, irrigation on locations having different water table levels.

Meadows dominated by native herbaceous species and having a high water table are an important source of feed for livestock in semi-arid regions of Turkey. This research investigated the effects of nitrogen fertilisation (ammonium sulfate) on two meadows having different water table levels and different soils. Dry matter production was 8868 kg ha–1 at location 1 and 7276 kg ha–1 at location 2. The application of 225 kg N ha–1 increased the crude protein content of the forage from 7.1 to 10.8%. A level of 150 kg ha–1 (CP 9.6%) is recommended as a result of this study. Crude protein yield increased from 303 to 1113 kg ha–1 with the highest rate of nitrogen application. The percentage of grasses in the forage averaged 92.5% and the weeds averaged 7.5%. Increasing nitrogen fertilisation resulted in an increase in the grass percentage and a decrease in the proportion of weeds. The differences in water table depth between location 1 and location 2 were not consistent between the years, and these differences influenced the irrigation applications which were applied according to soil moisture criteria.