Seed treatment with biopolymers for alleviation of abiotic stresses in plants

Seed germination is the most fundamental and crucial physiological phenomenon in the plant lifecycle, which often falls victim to external stress conditions. This causes inconsistent germination rate and crop stand which ultimately lowers the overall crop yield. One of the most promising approaches to getting favorable crop production is seed priming. These techniques have remarkable outcomes on germination processes and even during later stages of seedling emergence, crop growth, and productivity under drought and saline conditions. Recently, researchers as a sustainable agriculture practice are exploring renewable and biodegradable biopolymers for seed treatment. These biopolymers in the form of polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids can be used as coatings or as priming matrix. In this chapter, we discuss seed treatment techniques including priming and coating with biopolymers for mitigating the abiotic stresses in crops.