Articles
Effect of exogenous melatonin on Salicornia fruticosa plants grown in saline environments
Article number
1437_20
Pages
159 – 166
Language
English
Abstract
In recent years, halophytes have drawn more interest because of their special mechanisms that enable them to endure in extremely salinized conditions.
Melatonin is a hormone, which is involved in plant growth and development, as well as in responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, being able to improve plant growth under salt stress conditions.
In our research, we investigate how the application of exogenous melatonin during plant growth in a floating system with peat substrate under greenhouse conditions can affect salt stress tolerance and harvest quality in Salicornia fruticosa. We applied three different concentrations of melatonin (control, 100 μΜ, 200 μΜ) four times weekly, in plants grown in three concentrations of NaCl (control, 100 Mm, 200 mM). After harvest, we analysed the effect of PLA (polylactic acid) bags for extending their shelf-life as a ready to eat product.
We observed that the highest concentration of melatonin promoted root length and plant biomass.
In addition, we also observed that Salicornia shoots had a good behaviour in postharvest, because, even after 14 days of storage, we barely found a weight loss in them (only 2.7% weight reduction). In conclusion, our study shows that exogenous melatonin treatment can effectively alleviate the damage of salt stress on Salicornia plants, especially on root growth, and that Salicornia shoots maintain a good quality as a ready-to-eat product.
Melatonin is a hormone, which is involved in plant growth and development, as well as in responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, being able to improve plant growth under salt stress conditions.
In our research, we investigate how the application of exogenous melatonin during plant growth in a floating system with peat substrate under greenhouse conditions can affect salt stress tolerance and harvest quality in Salicornia fruticosa. We applied three different concentrations of melatonin (control, 100 μΜ, 200 μΜ) four times weekly, in plants grown in three concentrations of NaCl (control, 100 Mm, 200 mM). After harvest, we analysed the effect of PLA (polylactic acid) bags for extending their shelf-life as a ready to eat product.
We observed that the highest concentration of melatonin promoted root length and plant biomass.
In addition, we also observed that Salicornia shoots had a good behaviour in postharvest, because, even after 14 days of storage, we barely found a weight loss in them (only 2.7% weight reduction). In conclusion, our study shows that exogenous melatonin treatment can effectively alleviate the damage of salt stress on Salicornia plants, especially on root growth, and that Salicornia shoots maintain a good quality as a ready-to-eat product.
Publication
Authors
R.R. Benaissa, A. Giménez, V.M. Gallegos-Cedillo, C. Egea-Gilabert, P.A. Gómez, J. Ochoa, J.A. Fernández
Keywords
salt stress, polylactic acid, floating system, halophyte, packaging
Online Articles (57)