Ethanolamine affects physiological responses of salt-treated jute plants

Abstract

ABSTRACTHigh soil salinity decreases growth, photosynthetic activity, productivity and causes nutrient imbalance in plants. The important biogenic ethanolamine (EA), a natural compound found in plant cells, exerts a protective effect against unfavorable environments. This study evaluated the efficacy of foliar applied EA (150 µM) in reducing effects of salt applied at 200 mM NaCl, equivalent to 20 dS·m−1, in jute (Corchorus olitorius L.), a green leafy vegetable. Plants grown at 20 dS·m−1 NaCl had decreased growth, less photosynthetic pigments contents, photosynthetic activity (14CO2 fixation), nucleic acids, total protein, and levels of N, P, and K. Foliar application of EA increased these parameters compared to the untreated control and salt-treated plants. Salt-treated plants had increased transpiration, antioxidant and nonantioxidant enzyme activities, and H2O2, malondialdehyde, free proline content, and Na+ and Cl− levels, compared to untreated controls and plants treated with EA. Exogenous application of EA to foliage appears to ameliorate toxic effects of salinity by improving the antioxidant system, ionic balance, and 14CO2 assimilation of jute. It appears that EA application can help plants cope with high salinity via induction of tolerance mechanisms.