Preparation of Plant-derived Smoke for Stimulating Seed Germination and Quantification of Karrikins Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Smoke water (SW) is produced naturally or artificially from burning plant material. It provides the germination of the seeds of many plants and accelerates the growth and development of the plant and is also used in many fields of plant science. SW preparation is a relatively easy and inexpensive method, but a standard method for its preparation has not been developed yet. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop a low-cost efficient method to produce SW, to standardize it and to measure the amount of the main active biomolecule karrikin (KAR1) by HPLC. We also aimed to test and compare the best working concentration of SW and commercially available KAR1 on apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) seeds. The SWs were diluted to 1:100, 1:500, 1:1000, 1:5000 and 1:10000 ratios, and KAR1 to 0.01 μM, 0.1 μM, 1 μM, 5 μM and 10 μM concentrations. In terms of germination, it was determined that the use of 1:1000 (60%) concentration in the SW group and 1 μM (72%) concentration in the KAR1 group was appropriate. This is the first research in which a standard method was developed for obtaining SW. We think this study will be a guide to researchers who plan to study with smoke water, since we obtained the most concentrated KAR1 according to the literature.