## 3 Results
### Changes in Seeding Growth and Nodulation  
The effects of seed treatments on the growth of red clover seedlings were also estimated at a later stage of seedling growth. For this, control and treated seeds were sown in rhizoboxes filled with a substrate and the emerged seedlings were cultivated for 5 weeks. Seedlings growing from seeds of brown color were not tested in this experiment because their relative amount in a seed lot was small compared to yellow and dark purple seeds. Seed treatment with EMF15 was also not performed since it did not affect the germination and early growth of seedlings from dark purple seeds. The results of morphometric analysis of red clover 'Arimaiciai' seedlings grown from yellow and dark purple seeds are presented in Figure 4.  
The results revealed seed color-dependent differences in certain morphometric root parameters in control seedlings: roots were 30% longer, but their weight was 3.1 times smaller, and the number of nodules was 12.5 times lower in seedlings growing from purple seeds compared to yellow seed seedlings. Seed treatments did not affect the height of the above-ground part of 'Arimaiciai' seedlings growing from yellow seeds but significantly increased root length: CP5, CP7, and EMF10 by 39, 42, and 36%, respectively (Figure 4a). The above-ground part's weight was not affected by CP5 and EMF10, but CP7 decreased it by 34% compared to the control. Although the mean root weight was changed by seed treatments, due to the high scatter of results in the control group, the only significant effect was reduced root weight in the CP7 group (by 54%). The number of leaves was not affected by seed treatments in seedlings growing from yellow seeds, but the number of nodules was doubled by EMF10 (Figure 4a), while the effects of CP treatments on the number of nodules were not statistically significant.  
Figure 3: Morphometric parameters of red clover seedlings 7 days after sowing. The means \(\pm\) standard errors are presented (\(n=24\)–29). * Significantly different from the control group (\(p\leq 0.05\)); * significantly different from seedlings growing from yellow seeds in the same treatment group (\(p\leq 0.05\)).  
Treatments did not change the height of the above-ground part of seedlings growing from dark purple seeds (Figure 4b), but in contrast to seedlings from yellow seeds, CP7 and EMF10 did not affect the root length, and only CP5 increased it by 31%. Seed treatments did not affect the weight of the above-ground part of the seedlings from dark purple seeds (Figure 4b), but the root weight increased several folds in CP treatment groups (3-fold and more than 2-fold in CP5 and CP7 groups, respectively) compared to control. EMF10 did not change the root weight but increased the number of leaves by 16% (Figure 4b). Seed treatments exerted a strong positive effect on the number of nodules: CP5 increased the number of nodules by 27, CP7 by 19, EMF10 by 13 times (Figure 4b). As a result, the mean number of root nodules in dark purple seed seedlings in the CP7 group was 3.3 times larger compared with the number of nodules in the roots of CP7-treated yellow seed seedlings (\(p<0.05\)), while the difference between seedlings grown from differently colored seeds exposed to CP5 treatment was not statistically significant. Thus, CP treatments strongly improved modulation in seedlings grown from dark purple seeds. EMF10 treatment had a strong positive effect on nodulation activity in seedlings grown from seeds of both colors, but the number of nodules in yellow seeds seedlings was 1.76 times larger compared to dark purple seed seedlings (\(p<0.05\)).