Soaking summer squash seeds in low concentrations of cobalt solution before sowing increased plant growth, femaleness, and fruit yield via increasing plant ethylene level

Soaking summer squash (Cucurbita pepo cv. Eskandarany) seeds in continuously aerated solutions of 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 ppm Co2+ for 48 h before sowing strongly increased plant growth, femaleness, and fruit yield compared with those of water- (control) or 0.5 mM AOA (aminooxyacetic acid)-soaked seeds. Following the same pattern, plants of Co2+-soaked seeds produced significantly higher ethylene levels as early as the seedling stage (14 days after seed sowing) up to the onset of flower initiation (OFI) stage (30 days after seed sowing), with more pronounced levels of all measured parameters for plants of 1.00 ppm Co2+-soaked seeds. Plants of AOA-soaked seeds, however, behaved in a pattern similar to those of control in all measured parameters. The only exception was the significant ethylene inhibition noticed only at the plant seedling stage with AOA-seed soaking, which indicated the short term of AOA inhibition to ethylene when applied as early as the seed germination stage. When AOA was applied foliarly before and at the OFI stage, the increased plant femaleness obtained with Co2+ seed soaking was arrested. It is indicated, therefore, that summer squash plant femaleness is more responsive to plant ethylene-modulated levels before or at the OFI stage than earlier stages. Furthermore, all seed soaking treatments had no effect on plant leaf number or plant and fruit Co2+ content, which strongly indicated that the positive impact of Co2+ on summer squash plant growth and femaleness was mainly the result of the so-called "low Co2+ level-induced ethylene." The percentage of fruit yield increase reached about 26, 40, and 56% over the control by 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 ppm Co2+ seed soaking, respectively, whereas AOA seed soaking resulted in only a 4.5% yield reduction. To ensure the permanent positive impact of Co2+ on ethylene production as well as the short period of AOA inhibition, seeds were resoaked in water or AOA for 8 h after being soaked in 1.00 ppm Co2+ solution for 40 h. The results obtained emphasized the previous findings because AOA inhibition was restricted on ethylene production only at the seedling stage. Meanwhile, all Co2+ positive effects were obtained 2 weeks later, even with AOA seed resoaking. These data strongly suggested that the positive impact of Co2+ on ethylene production is more permanent than the negative impact of AOA. Hence its application, in low concentrations, as early as the seed germination stage, strongly increased summer squash plant growth, femaleness, and fruit yield by increasing the plant ethylene level.