Effect of salt stress on growth and accumulation of proline and soluble sugars on plantlets of Pistacia atlantica Desf. subsp. atlantica used as rootstocks
2012
Benhassaini, H. | Fetati, A. | Hocine, AK. | Belkhodja, M.
The effect of salt stress on several physiological and biochemical parameters of plantlets Pistacia atlantica Desf. subsp. atlantica was studied under controlled conditions in a climatic room. The plants were grown in pots and irrigated with a Hoagland nutrient solution during 120 days. Then, the plantlets were treated for 10 days with 100, 200, and 400 meq·l-1 NaCl + CaCl2, added to the Hoagland nutrient solution. The applied salts caused stress on the young Pistacia plantlets by reducing the growth of roots and shoots. The amount of free proline in leaves increased significantly with salinity under all treatments, to reach a maximum rate at the highest salinity concentration (400 meq·l-1) for all the plantlets. On the other hand, a significant difference in relative water content (RWC) was noted under the effect of 400 meq·l-1 of NaCl + CaCl2. The plantlets stressed at 100 meq·l-1 did not exhibit any influence of the salt on RWC, but their accumulation of sugars was much higher than at 200 meq·l-1. At 400 meq·l-1 the plantlets also accumulated a high content of soluble sugars, and after seven days of stress, their accumulation rose with the increasing salt concentration. The content of proline and soluble sugars in P. atlantica subsp. atlantica rootstock was very high, indicating that P. atlantica subsp. atlantica can be used as rootstock for Pistacia vera as it is more tolerant to salinity.
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