Physiological characterization of a pepper hybrid rootstock designed to cope with salinity stress
López-Serrano, Lidia | Canet-Sanchis, Guillermo | Selak, Gabriela Vuletin | Penella, Consuelo | San Bautista, Alberto | López-Galarza, Salvador | Calatayud, A. (Angeles)
In pepper crops, rootstocks that tolerate salt stress are not used because available commercial rootstocks offer limited profits. In this context, we obtained the hybrid NIBER®, a new salinity-tolerant rootstock that has been tested under real salinity field conditions for 3 years with 32%–80% higher yields than ungrafted pepper plants. This study aimed to set up the initial mechanisms involved in the salinity tolerance of grafted pepper plants using NIBER® as a rootstock to study root-shoot behavior, a basic requirement to develop efficient rootstocks. Gas exchange, Na⁺/K⁺, antioxidant capacity, nitrate reductase activity, ABA, proline, H₂O₂, phenols, MDA concentration and biomass were measured in ungrafted plants of cultivar Adige (A), self-grafted (A/A), grafted onto NIBER® (A/N) and reciprocal grafted plants (N/A), all exposed to 0 mM and 70 mM NaCl over a 10-day period. Salinity significantly and quickly decreased photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and nitrate reductase activity, but to lower extent in A/N plants compared to A, A/A and N/A. A/N plants showed decreases in the Na⁺/K⁺ ratio, ABA content and lipid peroxidation activity. This oxidative damage alleviation in A/N was probably due to an enhanced H₂O₂ level that activates antioxidant capacity to cope salinity stress, and acts as a signal molecule rather than a damaging one by contributing a major increase in phenols and, to a lesser extent, in proline concentration. These traits led to a minor impact on biomass in A/N plants under salinity conditions. Only the plants with the NIBER® rootstock controlled the scion by modulating responses to salinity.
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