Promotive effects of alginate-derived oligosaccharide on maize seed germination

The influence of alginate-derived oligosaccharide (molecular weight 1445 Da) was tested on the maize seed germination at different concentrations. Assays of alpha- and beta-amylase and protease activities showed the highest response at 0.75parts per thousand. Compared with the control, root growth on days 3 and 7 showed increases of 34% and 18%, respectively; and shoot growth on day 7 an increase of 46%. In the case of protease activity, treatments with both 0.75parts per thousand and 1.50parts per thousand alginate-derived oligosaccharide gave higher activities than the control. These results indicate that the rate of seed germination was enhanced by increasing the activities of several enzymes beneficial for germination.