Investigation of the effect of selenium foliar application on morphophysiological and biochemical characteristics of Scarlet sage under irrigation regime

Due to climate changes and Deficiency of water resources, as well as the importance of cultivating ornamental plants in green space, in order to better water management, an experiment to investigate the effect of water deficit sress and foliar application of different concentrations of selenium on some morphophysiological and biochemical characteristics of Scarlet sage, in factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three levels of water deficit stress (90 (control), 80 and 70% of field capacity) and four levels of sodium selenate (0, 0.5 and 1.5 μM) were performed in greenhouse conditions. Experiment results showed that water deficit stress decreased plant height, leaf area, flower longevity, relative leaf water content and increased electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde concentration. Application of selenium at concentrations of 0.5 and 1 μM by increasing the activity of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and peroxidase enzymes increases plant height, leaf area, flower longevity, relative leaf water content and reduces electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde concentration and also increases relative it was photosynthesized at the concentration of pigments but at a concentration of 1.5 μM had a negative effect on the mentioned properties. In general, the results showed that under water deficit stress has a detrimental effects on plants growth and development. Selenium in water deficit stress and non-stress conditions at low concentrations improved the vegetative and reproductive growth of plants but at higher concentrations had a negative effect on these parameters.