International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.5, 242-256 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 250 5 Advantages and Limitations of Multi-stress Priming Seed priming as a technique to enhance tolerance against multiple abiotic stresses has gained significant attention in horticultural crop production. While the practical benefits of priming have been demonstrated across numerous studies and crop species, it is important to critically evaluate both the advantages and the limitations of this approach to inform its effective implementation. 5.1 Agronomic and physiological benefits Multi-stress seed priming improves key agronomic traits such as germination rate, seedling vigor, and early establishment under adverse environmental conditions. By pre-conditioning seeds, priming triggers a cascade of physiological and biochemical changes, including enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, osmotic adjustment, membrane stabilization, and improved nutrient uptake (de Oliveira and Gomes-Filho, 2016; Wojtyla et al., 2016). These responses collectively confer increased resilience to drought, salinity, heat, and cold stresses (Zulfiqar, 2021). Furthermore, priming can reduce the lag phase during germination, leading to more uniform and synchronous seedling emergence, a desirable trait in commercial horticulture (Jisha et al., 2013). Studies have also shown that primed seeds exhibit better root architecture and shoot development, which translates into improved water and nutrient acquisition, ultimately enhancing yield stability under stress (Wojtyla et al., 2016). Agronomically, seed priming offers a cost-effective, simple, and scalable method that can be easily integrated into existing seed treatment protocols (Nowicki et al., 2025). It reduces the need for expensive chemical inputs and can complement other management practices such as irrigation scheduling and fertilization (Paul et al., 2022). 5.2 Challenges: duration of effect, genetic variability, and environmental conditions Despite its advantages, multi-stress seed priming presents several challenges that need consideration. One major limitation is the transient nature of the priming effect. The physiological enhancements induced by priming may diminish over time during seed storage, thus necessitating optimized storage conditions and timing of sowing to maintain efficacy (Hussain et al., 2015; Adhikari et al., 2024). Genetic variability among crop species and cultivars also influences the responsiveness to priming treatments. What proves effective for one genotype may be less so for another, making it imperative to develop tailored priming protocols based on genotype-specific responses (Ashraf and Foolad, 2005). Environmental conditions during and after priming further impact the effectiveness of treatment. Factors such as temperature, humidity and soil properties can modulate the stress level experienced by seedlings and influence the degree to which priming confers protection. Moreover, interactions between multiple stresses may be complex and priming designed to mitigate one stress could have neutral or even negative effects under combined stress scenarios (de Oliveira and Gomes-Filho, 2016). Scaling seed priming techniques from laboratory or controlled environments to large-scale agricultural settings requires standardization and quality control to ensure consistent outcomes (Ashraf and Foolad, 2005). 6 Future Perspectives As climate change intensifies the frequency and complexity of abiotic stress factors affecting horticultural crops, the strategic use of seed priming must evolve to meet future agricultural demands. While current studies have shown promising results, several areas require further exploration to optimize priming technologies for consistent, scalable and sustainable implementation. 6.1 Need for multifactorial assays Most current studies focus on single-stress conditions under controlled environments, which do not fully replicate the multifaceted nature of field conditions. Horticultural crops are often subjected to combinations of drought, salinity, heat, and cold, making it imperative to develop multifactorial experimental designs that evaluate cross-tolerance mechanisms under simultaneous stress exposures. Multifactorial assays should also consider
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