Exogenous application of salicylic acid induces salinity tolerance in eggplant seedlings

Abstract

Under salt stress conditions, plant growth is reduced due to osmotic, nutritional and oxidative imbalance. However, salicylic acid acts in the mitigation of this abiotic stress by promoting an increase in growth, photosynthesis, nitrogen metabolism, synthesis of osmoregulators and antioxidant enzymes. In this context, the objective was to evaluate the effect of salicylic acid doses on the growth and physiological changes of eggplant seedlings under salt stress. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, where the treatments were distributed in randomized blocks using a central composite matrix Box with five levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water (CEw) (0.50; 1.08; 2.50; 3.92 and 4.50 dS m-1), associated with five doses of salicylic acid (SA) (0.00; 0.22; 0.75; 1.28 and 1.50 mM), with four repetitions and each plot composed of three plants. At 40 days after sowing, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, electrolyte leakage, relative water content, and total dry mass were determined. ECw and SA application influenced the growth and physiological changes of eggplant seedlings. Increasing the ECw reduced growth in the absence of SA. Membrane damage with the use of SA remained stable up to 3.9 dS m-1 of ECw. The relative water content independent of the CEw increased with 1.0 mM of SA. The use of SA at the concentration of 1.0 mM mitigated the deleterious effect of salinity on seedling growth up to 2.50 dS m-1 of ECw.

Salt stress and organic fertilization on the growth and biochemical metabolism of Hylocereus costaricensis (red pitaya) seedlings

“…By reducing the rate of shoot production, plants consequently reduce their transpiration rate, decreasing water loss, which can ensure a higher survival rate (Fariduddin et al, 2012). With this, the plant ends up also reducing its photosynthetic capacity, since its area of light absorption is compromised, leading to decrease in size as well, as noted with Passiflora edulis (Mesquita et al, 2012), Capsicum annuum (Santos et al, 2019) and Solanum melongena (Sousa et al, 2022).…”

Hydrogen peroxide in attenuation of salt stress effects on physiological indicators and growth of soursop

“…The excess of salts in the irrigation water promotes the reduction of plant growth, because, while absorbing water, plants simultaneously absorb Na + and Clions, which cause damage to membranes, inactivation of biochemical pathways, consumption of reserves, and alterations in osmotic and ionic homeostase (Sá et al, 2022;Sousa et al, 2024). Salt stress also causes structural changes in photosynthetic pigments, compromising the excitation energy efficiency of the light-harvesting antenna and causing damage to photosystem II reaction centers (Tatagiba et al, 2014), affecting leaf turgor potential and inducing membrane damage.…”

Methods of application of salicylic acid as attenuator of salt stress in cherry tomato

“…In recent years, studies have reported that the application of salicylic acid can attenuate the effects of salt stress in several vegetables, for example, Veloso et al (2021) found that foliar application of SA at a concentration of 1.6 mM increased chlorophyll biosynthesis, and the number of sweet pepper fruits; Sousa et al (2024) observed that foliar application of SA at a concentration of 1 mM reduced cell membrane damage and increased the relative water content of eggplant leaves. In basil, Silva et al (2022) found improvements in gas exchange as a function of the application of SA (1 mM).…”