Salinity stress mitigation by radicular and foliar humic substances application in lettuce plants
Metadata
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Atero Calvo, Santiago; Magro, Francesco; Masetti, Giacomo; Navarro León, Eloy; Blasco León, Begoña; Ruiz Sáez, Juan ManuelEditorial
Springer
Materia
Antioxidants Biostimulant Humic substances
Date
2024-05-15Referencia bibliográfica
Atero Calvo, S. et. al. Plant Growth Regul (2024). [https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-024-01151-z]
Sponsorship
Universidad de Granada/ CBUA; PAI program (Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Grupo de Investigación AGR282); FPU of the Ministerio de Universidades awarded to S.A.C. Grant number [FPU20/05049].Abstract
Salinity stress constitutes one of the main abiotic stresses that considerably reduces crop yield. An approach to enhance plant
growth under salt stress involves the addition of humic substances (HS) to roots or leaves. Here, we evaluated the potential
use of BLACKJAK®, an HS-based product, to enhance salt tolerance in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). For this aim, plants
were exposed to salinity (100 mM NaCl), salinity + HS: radicular (R)-HS (0.40 mL/L and 0.60 mL/L) and foliar (F)-HS
(7.50 mL/L and 10.00 mL/L), along with a control (without NaCl). Parameters related to plant growth, Na+
and K+
accumulation,
photosynthetic activity, oxidative stress, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, as well as proline levels were
evaluated. Results showed that R and F-HS considerably enhanced salinity tolerance. In addition, F-HS offered a greater
improvement of plant growth in relation to shoot fresh weight, shoot relative growth rate, and foliar area, being 10.00 mL/L
the best dose. This tolerance could be associated with reduced Na+
translocation to the shoot and enhanced shoot K+
accumulation,
decreasing Na+/
K+ ratio. Furthermore, HS improved the net photosynthetic rate, Rubisco carboxylation efficiency,
and photosystem II performance, and reduced ROS levels and lipid peroxidation. Hence, our data show the potential use of
BLACKJAK® to improve lettuce tolerance to salinity, with foliar application slightly better than radicular to achieve this
aim, especially at 10.00 mL/L dose.