Growth, mineral composition, leaf chlorophyll and water relationships of two cherry varieties under NaCl-induced salinity stress

Abstract

Growth, mineral nutrition, leaf chlorophyll and water relationships were studied in cherry plants (cv. 'Bigarreau Burlat' [BB] and 'Tragana Edessis' [TE]) grafted on 'Mazzard' rootstock and grown in modified Hoagland solutions containing 0, 25 or 50 mmol L −1 NaCl, over a period of 55 days. Elongation of the main shoot of the plants treated with 25 or 50 mmol L −1 NaCl was significantly reduced by approximately 29-36%, irrespective of the cultivar. However, both NaCl treatments caused a greater reduction in the dry weight of leaves and scion's stems in BB than in TE plants. Therefore, BB was more sensitive to salinity stress than TE. The reduction of leaf chlorophyll concentration was significant only when BB and TE plants were grown under 50 mmol L −1 NaCl. Osmotic adjustment permitted the maintenance of leaf turgor in TE plants and induced an increase in leaf turgor of BB plants treated with 25 or 50 mmol L −1 NaCl compared with 0 mmol L −1 NaCl. Concerning the nutrient composition of various plant parts, Na concentrations in all plant parts of both cultivars were generally much lower than those of Cl. For both cultivars, leaf Cl concentrations were much higher than the concentrations in stems and roots, especially in the treatments containing NaCl. Finally, the distribution of Na within BB and TE plants treated with NaCl was relatively uniform.

Physiological and growth responses of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) plants subjected to short-term salinity stress

“…1D). A decline in dry weight of leaves and stems was also observed in two cherry cultivars subjected to salinity conditions (Papadakis et al 2007). The osmotic stress leads to an instant decline in cell expansion of young roots and leaves, causing stomatal closure as well.…”

“…In addition, the root was the main plant organ whose nutrient content was mostly affected by NaCl, probably because it is the plant part that salts enter first (Papadakis et al 2007). Based on the concentrations of various mineral elements (N, P, Mg, Ca, Mn, Zn and Fe) determined in roots, stems and leaves of CAB-6P plants, no one significant difference was found between control and NaCl-treated plants (data not shown).…”

“…After estimating the fresh and dry weights of all these plant portions, they were further analyzed for Na, Cl, K, N, P, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn and Zn. All the methods, procedures and equipments used for the aforementioned measurements and determinations have already been described in our previously published paper (Papadakis et al 2007). …”

“…It is also well documented that various Prunus species are included in the group of salt sensitive species (Andreu et al 2011). Although, there are many published papers dealing with the effects of salinity on growth, antioxidants, photosynthesis, nutritional status and several other parameters of Prunus species (Ziska et al 1990, Papadakis et al 2007, Chatzissavvidis et al 2008, Andreu et al 2011, there are no detailed studies regarding the changes and/or possible adaptations occurring just after exposure to saline environments. Such data would add valuable information to our knowledge about the initial events that take place during the exposure of fruit trees to salinity.…”

Effect of mulching and amelioration on growth and yield of groundnut on saline soil

“…Increasing soil salinity raising complexes problem, including high Na concentration (Tester and Davenport, 2003) and Cl (Papadakis et al, 2007) in the soil, that is difficult to overcome. Salinity affects plant growth in all growing stage (Nawaz et al, 2010), reduces water absorption by crop (Kronzucker et al, 2006;Salwa et al, 2010), reduces nutrient uptake (Salwa et al, 2010;Jouyban, 2012), and chlorophyll content (Xing et al, 2013;Nokandeh et al, 2015).…”