Response of selected nutrient elements in pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaf tissues to the seed priming-and-drying technology in cucurbitacin phytonematicides

Priming-and-drying technology for pea (Pisum sativum L.) seeds with hypogeal germination showed that the technology could improve plant growth and development, while suppressing nematode population densities, but without information on the potential causal factors for the former. A study was, therefore, conducted in Limpopo Province, South Africa, to investigate the extent to which plant responses could be associated with accumulation of foliar nutrient elements in pea plants post-subjecting pea seeds to the technology. After a 2-h priming of pea seeds in geometric concentration of Nemarioc-AL and Nemafric-BL phytonematicides and then air-dried in ovens at 26ºC for 72 h. Seeds were sown in 20-cm-diameter plastic pots filled with appropriate growing mixture, with one trial in the greenhouse and the other on microplots. At 60 days after sowing, 10 healthy mature leaves per plant were prepared for extraction of nutrient elements through the digestion method and then quantified in Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer ICPE-9000. Iron, Na, K and Zn in leaf tissues of pea plants versus increasing phytonematicides concentration, regardless of the growing condition, exhibited significant (P ≤ 0.05) negative or positive quadratic equations. In conclusion, results suggested that the priming-and-drying technology could affect pea plant growth through disproportionate accumulation of nutrient elements in foliar leaf tissues.