J. For. Sci., 2026, 72(3):107-118 | DOI: 10.17221/83/2025-JFS

Hormetic growth of Pinus pseudostrobus seedlings exposed to low-dose gamma and X-ray irradiationOriginal Paper

Laura Yasmin Flores López ORCID...1, César Valenzuela Encinas2, Eulogio De la Cruz Torres3, María de Lourdes Palafox Chávez4, Ivar Diego Aceves Sánchez4, Lourdes Georgina Iglesias Andreu ORCID...1
1 Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada, Universidad Veracruzana, Campus para la Cultura, las Artes y el Deporte, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
2 Instituto de Estudios Ambientales, Universidad de la Sierra Juárez, Ixtlán de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico
3 Departamento de Biología, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, La Marquesa, Ocoyoacac, Mexico
4 Departamento de Radioterapia, Centro Estatal de Cancerología Dr. Miguel Dorantes Mesa, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

Mexico ranks among the countries with the highest deforestation rates, increasing the demand for high-quality forest seedlings of valuable species such as Pinus pseudostrobus Lindl., which face germination limitations due to seed dormancy and low viability. Ionising radiation has emerged as an alternative pregermination treatment capable of inducing adaptive responses in plants through hormesis. This study evaluated the effects of different doses of gamma radiation (60Co) and high-energy X-rays (linear accelerator, 6 MeV) on the germination, growth, and quality of P. pseudostrobus seedlings. A total of 1 440 seeds were irradiated per radiation source with 12 doses (0–25 Gy) and sown under nursery conditions in a completely randomised design. Germination parameters, morphological traits, photosynthetic pigment content, and quality indices were analysed. With both radiation sources, low doses (0.5–1.5 Gy) significantly enhanced germination, chlorophyll content, and seedling height and diameter, while doses above 15 Gy inhibited these responses. The LD50 (median lethal dose) was estimated at 20 Gy for gamma rays and 12 Gy for X-rays, whereas GR50 (median growth reduction dose) exceeded 45 Gy in both treatments. These findings demonstrate that low radiation doses elicit a beneficial hormetic effect in P. pseudostrobus, representing a viable biotechnological approach to improve seedling production and ecological reforestation efficiency.

Keywords: forest biotechnology; ionising radiation; hormesis; lethal dose 50 (LD50); growth reduction 50 (GR50); low-dose radiation

Received: November 11, 2025; Revised: February 6, 2026; Accepted: February 9, 2026; Prepublished online: March 27, 2026; Published: March 31, 2026  Show citation

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Flores López LY, Valenzuela Encinas C, De la Cruz Torres E, de Lourdes Palafox Chávez M, Aceves Sánchez ID, Iglesias Andreu LG. Hormetic growth of Pinus pseudostrobus seedlings exposed to low-dose gamma and X-ray irradiation. Journal of Forest Science. 2026;72(3):107-118. doi: 10.17221/83/2025-JFS.
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