Effects of Foliar Application of Gibberellic Acid on the Salt Tolerance of Tomato and Sweet Pepper Transplants
Seed germination and early seedling growth are the plant growth stages most sensitive to salt stress. Thus, the availability of poor-quality brackish water can be a big limiting factor for the nursery vegetable industry. The exogenous supplementation of gibberellic acid (GA<sub>3</sub>)...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-11-01
|
| Series: | Horticulturae |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/6/4/93 |
| _version_ | 1797546372950392832 |
|---|---|
| author | Alessandro Miceli Filippo Vetrano Alessandra Moncada |
| author_facet | Alessandro Miceli Filippo Vetrano Alessandra Moncada |
| author_sort | Alessandro Miceli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Seed germination and early seedling growth are the plant growth stages most sensitive to salt stress. Thus, the availability of poor-quality brackish water can be a big limiting factor for the nursery vegetable industry. The exogenous supplementation of gibberellic acid (GA<sub>3</sub>) may promote growth and vigor and counterbalance salt stress in mature plants. This study aimed to test exogenous supplementation through foliar spray of 10<sup>−5</sup> M GA<sub>3</sub> for increasing salt tolerance of tomato and sweet pepper seedlings irrigated with increasing salinity (0, 25, and 50 mM NaCl during nursery growth. Tomato and sweet pepper seedlings suffered negative effects of salinity on plant height, biomass, shoot/root ratio, leaf number, leaf area, relative water content, and stomatal conductance. The foliar application of GA<sub>3</sub> had a growth-promoting effect on the unstressed tomato and pepper seedlings and was successful in increasing salinity tolerance of tomato seedlings up to 25 mM NaCl and up to 50 mM NaCl in sweet pepper seedlings. This treatment could represent a sustainable strategy to use saline water in vegetable nurseries limiting its negative effect on seedling quality and production time. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:28:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-370d339af49b47028a2f66928ca53d0a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:28:01Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj.art-370d339af49b47028a2f66928ca53d0a2023-11-20T22:46:46ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242020-11-01649310.3390/horticulturae6040093Effects of Foliar Application of Gibberellic Acid on the Salt Tolerance of Tomato and Sweet Pepper TransplantsAlessandro Miceli0Filippo Vetrano1Alessandra Moncada2Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, ItalySeed germination and early seedling growth are the plant growth stages most sensitive to salt stress. Thus, the availability of poor-quality brackish water can be a big limiting factor for the nursery vegetable industry. The exogenous supplementation of gibberellic acid (GA<sub>3</sub>) may promote growth and vigor and counterbalance salt stress in mature plants. This study aimed to test exogenous supplementation through foliar spray of 10<sup>−5</sup> M GA<sub>3</sub> for increasing salt tolerance of tomato and sweet pepper seedlings irrigated with increasing salinity (0, 25, and 50 mM NaCl during nursery growth. Tomato and sweet pepper seedlings suffered negative effects of salinity on plant height, biomass, shoot/root ratio, leaf number, leaf area, relative water content, and stomatal conductance. The foliar application of GA<sub>3</sub> had a growth-promoting effect on the unstressed tomato and pepper seedlings and was successful in increasing salinity tolerance of tomato seedlings up to 25 mM NaCl and up to 50 mM NaCl in sweet pepper seedlings. This treatment could represent a sustainable strategy to use saline water in vegetable nurseries limiting its negative effect on seedling quality and production time.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/6/4/93<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i><i>Capsicum annuum</i>seedlingsvegetable nurserytransplant productionsalinity |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Miceli Filippo Vetrano Alessandra Moncada Effects of Foliar Application of Gibberellic Acid on the Salt Tolerance of Tomato and Sweet Pepper Transplants Horticulturae <i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> <i>Capsicum annuum</i> seedlings vegetable nursery transplant production salinity |
| title | Effects of Foliar Application of Gibberellic Acid on the Salt Tolerance of Tomato and Sweet Pepper Transplants |
| title_full | Effects of Foliar Application of Gibberellic Acid on the Salt Tolerance of Tomato and Sweet Pepper Transplants |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Foliar Application of Gibberellic Acid on the Salt Tolerance of Tomato and Sweet Pepper Transplants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Foliar Application of Gibberellic Acid on the Salt Tolerance of Tomato and Sweet Pepper Transplants |
| title_short | Effects of Foliar Application of Gibberellic Acid on the Salt Tolerance of Tomato and Sweet Pepper Transplants |
| title_sort | effects of foliar application of gibberellic acid on the salt tolerance of tomato and sweet pepper transplants |
| topic | <i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> <i>Capsicum annuum</i> seedlings vegetable nursery transplant production salinity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/6/4/93 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alessandromiceli effectsoffoliarapplicationofgibberellicacidonthesalttoleranceoftomatoandsweetpeppertransplants AT filippovetrano effectsoffoliarapplicationofgibberellicacidonthesalttoleranceoftomatoandsweetpeppertransplants AT alessandramoncada effectsoffoliarapplicationofgibberellicacidonthesalttoleranceoftomatoandsweetpeppertransplants |