Effects of seed pretreatment by salicylic acid on growth and some physiological and biochemical parameters in Lepidium sativum

Salicylic acid is an endogenous plant growth regulator. It is involved in various physiological processes of plant growth and development and plays an active role in plant defense responses. In this study, because of the economic, medicinal and dietary importance of lepidium sativum, we studied some effects of salicylic acid with different concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1 mM) on some of the growth factors and biochemistry. Studies showed that shoot and root length increased significantly in plants which were pretreated with salicylic acid (0.01, 0.05, 0.1 mM). In addition, content of H2O2 was increased significantly in (0.05 and 0.01 Mm) of salicylic acid as compared with the control. Treatment with 0.01 mM of salicylic acid increased Mn +2 and Zn +2 absorptions while 0.01, 0.05 and 0.1 Mm of salicylic acid decreased anthocyanin and carotenoid contents in compare with control. Treatment with 0.05 and 0.1 mM of salicylic acid decreased catalase activity and malondialdehyde content as compared with control.