Effects of Exogenous Application of Salicylic Acid on Physiological and Biochemical Processes of Tuberose under Salt Stress

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of exogenous salicylic acid application on physiological and biochemical indices of 'Dezfuli' tuberose (Polianthestuberose L.) under salt stress condition. A factorial experiment was conducted in a complete randomized design with 16 treatments; 4 salinity level (0.5, 3, 6 and 9 dSm-1) and 4 salicylic acid concentrations (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 mM) with 4 replications in the research greenhouse of the Department of Horticultural Science, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University. Results showed that salicylic acid alleviates the adverse effects of salinity stress and increased leaf area and shoot fresh and dry weights. Furthermore, increased proline and catalase and super oxide dismutase content, but reduced electrolyte leakage and prevented flowering delay. Positive effects of salicylic acid were not significant in some characteristics such as chlorophyll content and inflorescence length. Overall, salicylic acid can alleviate the adverse effects of salt stress on tuberose plants and its application can be recommended as an effective plant growth regulator to prevent the tuberose flower quality loss in the regions with low quality soil or irrigation water source.