Abstract
Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a biennial crop of high commercial value in Pakistan. Onion is considered as salt sensitive plant species. The present investigation was carried out to investigate the effect of salinity on onion and its alleviation through exogenously applied gibberellic acid (GA3; 100 mg L-1). Foliar application of GA3 (100 mg L-1) was applied on onion seedlings grown under three levels (0, 2 or 4 dS m-1) of salinity after 45 days of sowing. Results revealed that growth parameters and total soluble protein (TSP) contents declined with increase in soil salinity level. While, antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, SOD and POD) were increased with salinity. However, exogenously applied GA3 significantly enhanced the plant growth and TSP in onion seedlings. Interestingly, CAT, SOD and POD concentration decreased with GA3 application which depicts stress alleviation in saline stressed onion plants due to GA3. It was concluded that the growth of onion could be enhanced to some extent by the application of GA3 under salinity stress.
Highlights
Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a biennial crop of high commercial value in Pakistan
Results showed that when salinity level increased the plant growth declined as compared to control (Table 1)
The decrease in plant growth in saline stress might be as a result of that salinity removes the potassium ions via plant roots, which generates physiological discrepancy because potassium ion is essential for the synthesis of proteins and metabolism (Chen et al 2007)
Summary
Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a biennial crop of high commercial value in Pakistan. Onion is considered as salt sensitive plant species. The present investigation was carried out to investigate the effect of salinity on onion and its alleviation through exogenously applied gibberellic acid (GA3; 100 mg L-1). Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a biennial crop, and it belongs to Alliacea family (Adamicki & Kepka 1974) It is the one of most popular vegetables in the daily diet. Gibberellic acid (GA3) affects production by increasing the stem length and internodes of onion plant. It restricts senescence by change in lipid peroxidation and adjusts high level of cellular antioxidants like superoxide dismutase and catalase (Dhindsa et al 1982). The present work was taken up under field conditions to determine the impact of different level of salinity on growth of onion and alleviation of stress by GA3
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