From Stress to Success: Harnessing Pre- and Post-Harvest Seed Priming

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Biology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Climate variability and environmental stresses threaten crop yields.
• Crop stress resilience is vital for food security.
• Seed priming offers a promising strategy to enhance plant resilience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review pre- and post-harvest seed priming approaches.
• To explore common and specific underlying mechanisms of seed priming.
• To provide new directions for the seed sector in developing resilient crops.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature on seed priming.
• Analysis of epigenetic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic regulatory processes.
• Comparison of pre- and post-harvest priming strategies.

Main Results:

• Seed priming, applied pre- or post-harvest, enhances germination and seedling vigor.
• Both approaches rely on complex molecular signals and regulatory pathways.
• Understanding these mechanisms can optimize priming for stress tolerance.

Conclusions:

• Seed priming is a key strategy for improving crop resilience to climate change.
• Further research into priming mechanisms can advance seed technology.
• Optimized seed priming is essential for ensuring stable agricultural yields.