Abstract
The quality of the seeds is of great importance for the cultivation of plants, however, the quality can be altered by the abiotic effects, amongst such, saline stress. Salinity is one of the great obstacles faced by modern agriculture, however, alternatives have been researched to mitigate its effects, where it is possible to mention the use of salicylic acid. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) seeds cultivated using applications of salicylic acid to attenuate the irrigation water salinity. The experimental design was a completely randomized complete block design in incomplete factor scheme, with five conductivities for irrigation water (0.5, 1.3, 3.25, 5.2, 6.0 dS m-1) and five salicylic acid doses (0.0, 0.29, 1.0, 1.71 and 2.0 mM), with five and four replicates, respectively. The electrical conductivity presented an effect on germination, while the salicylic acid presented an effect on the germination speed index, emergence speed index, shoot length, root and seedling length, and seedlings dry mass. The highest correlations were obtained amongst the germination variables. Therefore, it is possible to affirm that salicylic acid can be used up to the dose of 1.0 mM with no further damage to basil seeds’ quality.
Highlights
The seed’s physiological quality can be influenced by biotic and abiotic factors, amongst such saline stress
The initial water content for basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) seeds varied by 0.97 percentage points (8.9 to 9.95%), cultivated according to different saline levels and salicylic acid doses, whereas such values are within tolerable limits between samples (Table 2)
A significant interaction was observed between the factors electrical conductivity for irrigation water (ECw) and salicylic acid (SA) in relation to the percentage of germination
Summary
The seed’s physiological quality can be influenced by biotic and abiotic factors, amongst such saline stress With this regard, excess salt in addition to reducing the water absorption by the seeds causes toxicity, which can lead to the death of the embryo (Santos et al, 2016). Alternatives are researched to attenuate the effects of saline stress on plants, amongst such alternatives, the salicylic acid (SA) attenuators are highlighted. This acid is a phenolic nature hormone, acting as a regulator of the plant development, which participates in several physiological plant processes and has been studied as attenuating to biotic and abiotic stresses (Taiz et al, 2017). Several studies have been carried out using salicylic acid with a salt stress attenuator (Ashraf et al, 2010; Bahini et al, 2012; Jini & Joseph, 2017)
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