Abstract:
Salicylic acid has been found to play an important
role in the regulation of plant growth
and development in response to environmental stress
es. In the present study, the effect of
salicylic acid (SA) (0 and 0.1 mM) on growth parame
ters and some physiological
characteristics of two strawberry cultivars ("Kurdi
stan" and "Queen Elisa") was
investigated under drought stress treatments (-0.1
and -1 MPa). Experimental design was
factorial based on completely randomized design wit
h three replications. Results showed
that drought stress decreased leaf area, leaf dry m
atter, shoot dry matter, total dry
matter, relative water content, stomatal conductanc
e, yield, and fruit weight. Salicylic
acid application increased total leaf area and leaf
and shoot dry matter in both cultivars.
Leaf number, root dry matter, total dry matter, yie
ld and fruit weight were increased by
SA application in "Kurdistan" under drought stress.
"Kurdistan" cultivar had higher
RWC
than "Queen Elisa" and SA application increased
RWC
, proline and soluble
carbohydrate in "Kurdistan" compared to "Queen Elis
a" under drought stress
conditions.
RWC
, proline and soluble carbohydrate of “Queen Elisa"
did not change with
SA spray. Total soluble protein was not affected in
"Kurdistan" under drought stress,
while "Queen Elisa" showed a reduction in total pro
tein. SA application increased
catalase and peroxidase activity in both cultivars
under drought stress. In conclusion,
“Kurdistan” was less susceptible to drought stress
than “Queen Elisa” because
“Kurdistan” showed less reduction in leaf number an
d area, crown, and total dry matter
compared to “Queen Elisa”. SA application altered s
ome physiological responses of both
cultivars under drought stress. The effect of SA wa
s more pronounced in "Kurdistan”
than "Queen Elisa".
Keywords:
Antioxidant enzymes, Dry matter, Proline, Soluble c
arbohydrate, Yield.
