TITLE:
Enhancing the Salt Tolerance Potential of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) by Exogenous Application of Salicylic Acid
AUTHORS:
C. M. Ayyub, Mujahid Ali, Muhammad Rashid Shaheen, Rashad Waseem Khan Qadri, Imran Khan, M. Muzammil Jahangir, Karim Yar Abbasi, Shagufta Kamal, Muhammad Zain
KEYWORDS:
Citrullus lanatus, Salicylic Acid, Salinity Stress, NaCl, Abiotic Stress
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.6 No.19,
December
24,
2015
ABSTRACT: Salicylic acid (SA) is a vital plant growth regulator providing promising role in plant development
and adopts defense mechanism to abiotic stresses. Salinity is the most limiting abiotic factor for
plant development and growth changes in watermelon by producing reactive oxygen species and
ultimately oxidative stress. The present study was aimed to investigate the mechanism involved in
salt stress alleviation in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thanb. Mavs.) through the foliar application
of salicylic acid. Watermelon cv. Charleston Gray was grown under moderate saline regime of
3 ds·m-1 NaCl and sprayed with salicylic acid with four level (0.5, 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 mmol/L) compared
along with control. SA @ 5.0 mmol/L was found to be very effective in mitigation of salt
stress. SA was found to be very effective in alleviation of salinity stress by produced antioxidants
and acted as osmo-regulator.