Improvement of salinity tolerance in hot pepper plants by silicon foliar application

Document Type : scientific research article

Authors

1 M.Sc. Graduate, Dept. of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran

2 Corresponding Author, Assistant Prof., Dept. of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran.

3 Assistant Prof., Dept. of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran

Abstract

Background and objectives: Salinity is one of the abiotic stress factors that causes great damage to the production of agricultural products around the world. Various strategies have been adopted to reduce the negative effect of salinity on plants and to improve the growth and development of plants under salinity stress conditions. In the present study, the effect of silicon foliar application on decreasing the effects of salinity stress and its related physiological mechanisms in hot pepper plants has been investigated.
Materials and methods: The research was conducted as a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications in the greenhouse of Ilam University. The treatments tested in this research included three levels of salinity stress (control, 75 and 150 mM NaCl) and four levels of silicon (control, 0.5, 1 and 2 mM). In the stage of four expanded leaves, silicon treatment was applied as a foliar spray in the mentioned concentrations until the surface of the leaves was completely wet, and it was repeated two more times after one month. Salinity treatment was done by preparing NaCl solution and i the plants with fertilizer solution every three days. The treatments were continued until fruiting and complete fruit harvesting.
Results: In the final results obtained from this research, it was found that salinity caused a significant decrease in growth and performance parameters (root and shoot dry weight, plant height, number of fruits per plant and crop yield) as well as a decrease in relative water content and chlorophyll and caused increase in the content of proline, malondialdehyde and ion leakage in pepper plants. The results showed that the application of silicon reduced the effects of salinity stress on pepper plants. The highest total yield was obtained in 1 and 2 mM silicon application under non-saline irrigation. At all salinity levels, the application of silicon increased the growth and yield of pepper plants. These results were related to the increase in relative water content and chlorophyll, and decreases in proline, malondialdehyde accumulaion and electrolyte leakage.
Conclusion: In general, the results of this research indicated that the application of silicon, especially in concentrations of 1 and 2 mM, improved the growth and performance of hot pepper plants under stress and non-stress conditions. The exogenous application of silicon alleviated the negative effects of salinity on the plant by increasing the amount of chlorophyll and relative water content and decrease proline and malondialdehyde. Although the application of silicon in non-saline conditions had positive effects on plant growth and performance, it was more effective in saline conditions. Therefore, silicon foliar spraying is recommended to decrease the effects of salinity on the growth and performance of hot pepper plants.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

1.Munns, R. & Gilliham, M. (2015). Salinity tolerance of crops–what is the cost. New phytologist, 208 (3), 668-673.‏
2.Munns, R. & Tester, M. (2008). Mechanisms of salinity tolerance. Annual Review in Plant Biology, 59, 651-681.‏
3.Miller, G. A. D., Suzuki, N., Ciftci‐Yilmaz, S. U. L. T. A. N. & Mittler, R. O. N. (2010). Reactive oxygen species homeostasis and signalling during drought and salinity stresses. Plant, cell & Environment, 33 (4), 453-467.‏
4.Qadir, M., Qureshi, A. S. & Cheraghi, S. A. M. (2008). Extent and characterization of salt‐affected soils in Iran and strategies for their amelioration and management. Land Degradation & Development, 19 (2), 214-227.‏
5.Guntzer, F., Keller, C. & Meunier, J. D. (2012). Benefits of plant silicon for crops: a review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 32, 201-213.‏
6.Ahanger, M. A. & Ahmad, P. (2019). Role of mineral nutrients in abiotic stress tolerance: revisiting the associated signaling mechanisms. Plant signaling molecules, 269-285.‏
7.Wang, M., Wang, R., Mur, L. A. J., Ruan, J., Shen, Q. & Guo, S. (2021). Functions of silicon in plant drought stress responses. Horticulture Research, 8, 1-13.
8.Liang, Y., Sun, W., Zhu, Y. G. & Christie, P. (2007). Mechanisms of silicon-mediated alleviation of abiotic stresses in higher plants: a review. Environmental Pollution, 147 (2), 422-428.‏
9.Rizwan, A., Zia-ur-Rehman, M., Rizwan, M., Usman, M., Anayatullah, S., Alharby, H. F. & Ali, S. (2023). Effects of silicon nanoparticles and conventional Si amendments on growth and nutrient accumulation by maize (Zea mays L.) grown in saline-sodic soil. Environmental Research, 227, 115740.‏
10.de Souza Junior, J. P., de Mello Prado, R., Campos, C. N. S., Junior, G. D. S. S., Costa, M. G., de Pádua Teixeira, S. & Gratão, P. L. (2023). Silicon modulate the non-enzymatic antioxidant defence system and oxidative stress in a similar way as boron in boron-deficient cotton flowers. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 197, 107594.‏
11.Li, H., Zhu, Y., Hu, Y., Han, W. & Gong, H. (2015). Beneficial effects of silicon in alleviating salinity stress of tomato seedlings grown under sand culture. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, 37, 1-9.‏
12.Yaghubi, K., Ghaderi, N., Vafaee, Y. & Javadi, T. (2016). Potassium silicate alleviates deleterious effects of salinity on two strawberry cultivars grown under soilless pot culture. Scientia Horticulturae, 213, 87-95.‏
13.Zhu, Y., Jiang, X., Zhang, J., He, Y., Zhu, X., Zhou, X. & Liu, Y. (2020). Silicon confers cucumber resistance to salinity stress through regulation of proline and cytokinins. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 156, 209-220.‏
14.López-Serrano, L., Calatayud, Á., López-Galarza, S., Serrano, R. & Bueso, E. (2021). Uncovering salt tolerance mechanisms in pepper plants: a physiological and transcriptomic approach. BMC Plant Biology, 21, 1-17.‏
15.Blum, A. & Ebercon, A. (1981). Cell membrane stability as a measure of drought and heat tolerance in wheat. Crop Science, 21 (1), 43-47.‏
16.Khan, M. A. H., Baset Mia, M. A., Quddus, M. A., Sarker, K. K., Rahman, M., Skalicky, M. & Hossain, A. (2022). Salinity-induced physiological changes in pea (Pisum sativum L.): Germination rate, biomass accumulation, relative water content, seedling vigor and salt tolerance index. Plants, 11 (24), 3493.
17.Arnon, D. I. (1949). Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts. Polyphenoloxidase in Beta vulgaris. Plant Physiology,
24 (1), 1-14.
18.Bates, L. S., Waldren, R. A. & Teare, I. D. (1973). Rapid determination of free proline for water-stress studies. Plant and Soil, 39, 205-207.‏
19.Stewart, R. R. & Bewley, J. D. (1980). Lipid peroxidation associated with accelerated aging of soybean axes. Plant Physiology, 65 (2), 245-248.‏
20.Safdar, H., Amin, A., Shafiq, Y., Ali, A., Yasin, R., Shoukat, A. & Sarwar, M. I. (2019). A review: Impact of salinity
on plant growth. Nature and Science, 17 (1), 34-40.‏
21.Trabelsi, L., Gargouri, K., Hassena, A. B., Mbadra, C., Ghrab, M., Ncube, B. & Gargouri, R. (2019). Impact of drought and salinity on olive water status and physiological performance in an arid climate. Agricultural water management, 213, 749-759.‏
22.Khan, A., Khan, A. L., Muneer, S., Kim, Y. H., Al-Rawahi, A. & Al-Harrasi, A. (2019). Silicon and salinity: Crosstalk
in crop-mediated stress tolerance mechanisms. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10, 1429.‏
23.De Pascale, S., Ruggiero, C., Barbieri, G. & Maggio, A. (2003). Physiological responses of pepper to salinity and drought. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 128 (1), 48-54.‏
24.Navarro, J. M., Garrido, C., Carvajal, M. & Martinez, V. (2002). Yield and fruit quality of pepper plants under sulphate and chloride salinity. The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 77 (1), 52-57.‏
25.Villa-Castorena, M., Ulery, A. L., Catalán-Valencia, E. A. & Remmenga, M. D. (2003). Salinity and nitrogen rate effects on the growth and yield of chile pepper plants. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 67 (6), 1781-1789.‏
26.Hurtado, A. C., Chiconato, D. A., de Mello Prado, R., Junior, G. D. S. S. & Felisberto, G. (2019). Silicon attenuates sodium toxicity by improving nutritional efficiency in sorghum and sunflower plants. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 142, 224-233.‏
27.Savvas, D., Giotis, D., Chatzieustratiou, E., Bakea, M. & Patakioutas, G. (2009). Silicon supply in soilless cultivations of zucchini alleviates stress induced by salinity and powdery mildew infections. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 65 (1), 11-17.‏
28.Peña‐Calzada, K., Olivera‐Viciedo, D., Calero‐Hurtado, A., de Mello Prado, R., Habermann, E., Lata Tenesaca, L. F. & Lupino Gratão, P. (2023). Silicon mitigates the negative impacts of salt stress in soybean plants. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture,‏ 103, 4360-4370.
29.Heidari, M. (2012). Effects of salinity stress on growth, chlorophyll content and osmotic components of two basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) genotypes. African Journal of Biotechnology, 11 (2), 379-384.‏
30.Trejo-Téllez, L. I., García-Jiménez, A., Escobar-Sepúlveda, H. F., Ramírez-Olvera, S. M., Bello-Bello, J. J. & Gómez-Merino, F. C. (2020). Silicon induces hormetic dose-response effects on growth and concentrations of chlorophylls, amino acids and sugars in pepper plants during the early developmental stage. PeerJ, 8, e9224.‏
31.Singh, P., Kumar, V., Sharma, J., Saini, S., Sharma, P., Kumar, S. & Sharma, A. (2022). Silicon supplementation alleviates the salinity stress in wheat plants by enhancing the plant water status, photosynthetic pigments, proline content and antioxidant enzyme activities. Plants, 11 (19), 2525.‏
32.Kong, W., Liu, F., Zhang, C., Zhang, J. & Feng, H. (2016). Non-destructive determination of Malondialdehyde (MDA) distribution in oilseed rape leaves by laboratory scale NIR hyperspectral imaging. Scientific Reports, 6 (1), 35393.‏
33.Ma, D., Sun, D., Wang, C., Qin, H., Ding, H., Li, Y. & Guo, T. (2016). Silicon application alleviates drought stress in wheat through transcriptional regulation of multiple antioxidant defense pathways. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 35, 1-10.‏
Journal of Plant Production Research
Volume 30, Issue 4
January 2024
Pages 103-120

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics