Effects of Soaking Seed with PEG on Seed Germination and Physiological Characteristics of Matthiola incana

In this paper, the seeds of Matthiola incana were treated with different concentrations of polyethylene glycol（PEG） to study the effects of PEG on the germination rate, germination potential and physiological and biochemical indexes of the seeds. The results showed that a certain concentration of PEG treatment increased the proline content, soluble sugar content, soluble protein content of M. incana seeds and activity of POD and SOD enzyme, and reduced relative conductivity and MDA content. On the 7 th day of germination, the germination rate and germination potential were 67.00% and 53.33%, which were extremely significant（p＜0.01） 34.00% and 36.74% higher than those of the control, respectively.