Abscisic acid priming regulates morphophisiology of wheat to confer salt tolerance

Salinity is a core problem that adversely affects wheat production by impairing germination and physiological functions. Hormonal seed priming enhances salinity tolerance. We conducted two consecutive laboratory experiments under a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates to explore the effects of seed priming using abscisic acid (ABA) in the seedlings of wheat cultivars (ESWYT-5, ESWYT-6, and BARI GOM-28) under saline conditions. In the first experiment, the seeds primed with ABA (40 ppm) exhibited a significant increase in germination, root and shoot biomass, and water relations, followed by non-primed and hydro-primed seedlings in the ESWYT-5 cultivars. In the second experiment, seed priming with 40 ppm ABA significantly improved germination and early growth under salinity stress, with the ESWYT-5 cultivar outperforming the other cultivars. Compared with ESWYT-6 and BARI Gom-28, ESWYT-5 showed higher germination percentage (GP) 7–26%, germination coefficient (GCE) 1–6%, vigor index (VI) 8–47%, improved water relations (RWC: 1–42%), and greater biomass production. Our study findings highlighted that better germination and growth of primed seedlings of wheat cultivars were associated with better uptake of water under saline conditions.