Abstract
The growing demand for Thymus serpyllum biomass to produce drugs, cosmetics and spices necessitates the search for innovative methods mitigating the negative effects of environmental stressors in order to improve its yield under unfavorable conditions. Due to the exposure of plants to salinity stress (SS), we investigated the effect of sugar beet molasses (SBM) on the growth and biochemical parameters related to plants’ response to SS. Wild thyme plants were treated for 5 weeks to sodium chloride and 3% molasses solution using two modes of application (soil irrigation or foliar sprays). Plants irrigated by SBM showed slighter stem growth inhibition than control plants, high stress tolerance index and maintained a constant root water content under salt stress. Moreover plants treated with 100 mM NaCl and soil-applied SBM had lower lipid peroxidation level, showed lower POD activity, higher total soluble protein content and maintained a more even free amino acids level, compared to the control treatments. The concentration of potassium ions was higher in the case of plant roots irrigation with sugar beet molasses compared to control plants. In this experiment, most of the growth and biochemical parameters from foliar molasses-sprayed plants did not differ significantly from the control. We provided evidence that soil-applied SBM beneficially changed the plant’s biochemical response to salt stress. On the basis of the obtained results, we conclude that this soil amendment contributes to the strengthening of plant protection against this harmful environmental factor.
Highlights
The genus Thymus includes numerous species of economic importance [1,2]
When salt stress was applied, EC increased in parallel to the sodium chloride concentration, and was, respectively, 3.22 and 4.64 dS m−1
This is especially true where the area present study, we examined whether the adverse effects of salt stress in Thymus serpyllum of salt-affected soils are expanding due to constantly increasing temperatures and procultivation could be mitigated by the exogenous application of sugar beet molasses as a soil longed drought periods which cause increased soil salinity [12,34,35]
Summary
The genus Thymus includes numerous species of economic importance [1,2]. Thyme was ascertained an important source of medicinal substances, with anti-allergic and anticancer (antitumor), i.e., cytotoxic properties [3,4]. The shrubby perennial wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.), native to Europe, has been usually applied to treat respiratory and gastrointestinal problems [5]. The use of this wild plant in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries is increasing [5,8]. We currently see an increased interest in researching the therapeutic properties of this species which serves as a high quality source of material with a wide variety effects [9]
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