The effect of 24-epibrassinolide on chlorophyll parameters, physiological and biochemical traits of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under salt stress.

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Plant Production Engineering and Genetics, Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Faculty of agriculture, Razi University. Kermanshah, Iran.

2 2. Greenhouse and Controlled Environments Research Institute, Horticultural Sciences Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Iran.

3 3. Department of Soil Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

10.30473/cb.2025.74198.2006

Abstract

Salinity stress affects plant growth and productivity by causing ion toxicity, disrupting water uptake, and altering hormonal balance. With the shift towards greenhouse-based vegetable and fruit production, selecting and evaluating lettuce genotypes with traits like heat, salinity, and drought tolerance is crucial to meeting production goals. Therefore, in this project, to identify salt-tolerant lines, promising lines numbered 20, 7, and 4, along with the local cultivar ‘Setareh’ and the foreign cultivars ‘Batavia’ and ‘Mignonette,’ were tested in a factorial experiment arranged in a completely randomized design with four replications in the greenhouse of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Razi University, Kermanshah, during the 2023-2024 growing season. In this study, pots were irrigated with specific salinity levels (control, concentration of 10 mM NaCl/5 mM CaCl₂, concentration of 20 mM NaCl/10 mM CaCl₂, and concentration of 30 mM NaCl/15 mM CaCl₂). Salinity treatments were applied simultaneously after the third or fourth leaf stage. Various traits, including chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf greenness, total soluble sugar content, total phenol content, and total flavonoid content, were measured. The results showed that with increasing salinity levels, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters such as Fv/Fm (maximum quantum efficiency of PSII) and Y(PSII) (effective quantum yield of PSII) decreased, indicating a reduction in the photosynthetic efficiency of lettuce plant genotypes. This could lead to a decrease in plant growth and productivity. Additionally, the increase in salinity stress levels resulted in elevated levels of phytochemical compounds such as total soluble sugar content, total phenol content, and total flavonoid content.

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