Abstract
Stimulation of growth by very low doses of ionizing radiation, or hormesis, is a widely documented phenomenon. The biochemical mechanisms are unclear and the phenomenon is sporadic, controlled by factors as yet only poorly understood. Our study addressed factors reported to control the growth response of plants to seed irradiation. A growth chamber experiment compared the effects of four radiation sources on three crop species. Early emergence of flax (Linum usitatissimum) and early growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) were increased by irradiation. These effects did not vary as a function of the photon-energy or dose-rate of the sources. Three field experiments were conducted where various cultivars and seed lots of wheat were irradiated at doses of 0.5–50 Gy using Cobalt-60. Early emergence was significantly accelerated in 7 of 18 seed lots. Grain yields were significantly increased in five cases for Neepawa or Glenlea cultivars, but were significantly decreased in nine other cases. The effects were not consistently related to measured seed lot characteristics, manipulation of the seed moisture content prior to irradiation, or the post-seeding environment as varied by delayed planting. In conclusion, there was some evidence of hormesis in emergence and early growth, but these effects did not persist to yield a benefit at harvest.Key words: Hormesis, stimulation, wheat, barley, flax, irradiation
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Irradiation increased early flax emergence.
- Taxon
- flax
Linum usitatissimume0 - Treatment
- irradiatione0
- Outcome
- Early emergencee0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Early emergence of flax (Linum usitatissimum) and early growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) were increased by irradiation.”
Claim · model-written summary
Irradiation increased early wheat growth.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivume0 - Treatment
- irradiatione0
- Outcome
- early growthe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Early emergence of flax (Linum usitatissimum) and early growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) were increased by irradiation.”
Claim · model-written summary
Irradiation increased early barley growth.
- Taxon
- barley
.jpg?width=60)
Hordeum vulgaree0 - Treatment
- irradiatione0
- Outcome
- early growthe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“Early emergence of flax (Linum usitatissimum) and early growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) were increased by irradiation.”
Claim · model-written summary
The early growth and emergence responses did not vary with photon energy or source dose rate.
Verbatim
e0“These effects did not vary as a function of the photon-energy or dose-rate of the sources.”
t0“FIELD CROPS”
Claim · model-written summary
Early wheat emergence was significantly accelerated in 7 of 18 seed lots.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- GAMMA IRRADIATION OF THE SEEDt0
- Outcome
- Early emergencee0
- Direction
- acceleratede0
- Value
- 7 of 18 seed lotse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Early emergence was significantly accelerated in 7 of 18 seed lots.”
t0“GAMMA IRRADIATION OF THE SEED”
e1“seed lots of wheat were irradiated at doses of 0.5–50 Gy using Cobalt-60”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat grain yield significantly increased in five cases for Neepawa or Glenlea cultivars.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Material
- Neepawa or Glenlea cultivarse0
- Treatment
- GAMMA IRRADIATION OF THE SEEDt0
- Outcome
- Grain yieldse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- five casese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Grain yields were significantly increased in five cases for Neepawa or Glenlea cultivars, but were significantly decreased in nine other cases.”
t0“GAMMA IRRADIATION OF THE SEED”
e1“seed lots of wheat were irradiated at doses of 0.5–50 Gy using Cobalt-60”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat grain yield significantly decreased in nine other cases.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- GAMMA IRRADIATION OF THE SEEDt0
- Outcome
- Grain yieldse0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- nine other casese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Grain yields were significantly increased in five cases for Neepawa or Glenlea cultivars, but were significantly decreased in nine other cases.”
t0“GAMMA IRRADIATION OF THE SEED”
e1“seed lots of wheat were irradiated at doses of 0.5–50 Gy using Cobalt-60”
Claim · model-written summary
The responses were not consistently related to seed lot characteristics, moisture manipulation or planting delay.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- manipulation of the seed moisture content prior to irradiatione0
- Outcome
- The effectse0
- Direction
- not consistently relatede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The effects were not consistently related to measured seed lot characteristics, manipulation of the seed moisture content prior to irradiation, or the post-seeding environment as varied by delayed planting.”
e1“seed lots of wheat were irradiated”
Claim · model-written summary
Early hormetic effects did not persist as a yield benefit at harvest.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Outcome
- yield a benefit at harveste0
- Direction
- did not persiste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“these effects did not persist to yield a benefit at harvest.”
e1“seed lots of wheat were irradiated”
The same questions in other papers
radiation · growth · Hordeum vulgare (barley)Results differ
12 papers in the same direction as this paper · 22 in the opposite direction · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
- negative
32 papers more in this group
See all 36 papers →radiation · yield · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Results differ
22 papers in the same direction as this paper · 16 in the opposite direction
- negative
- no effect
- negative
35 papers more in this group
See all 39 papers →radiation · growth · Linum usitatissimum (flax)Positive and negative results
2 in the opposite direction
- negative
- negative
radiation · growth · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
34 papers in the same direction as this paper · 51 in the opposite direction · 3 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
- negative
85 papers more in this group
See all 89 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.