Effect of Salinity Stress and Salicylic Acid on Growth, Antioxidant Compounds, and Element Uptake in Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.)
Volume 11, Issue 1, May 2025
https://doi.org/10.30470/jmpb.2025.2056596.1132
Hassan Farhadzadeh borujerdi, Sepideh Kalateh Jari, Marjan Diyanat
Abstract Salinity stress, as one of the major challenges in agriculture, disrupts water and nutrient uptake by accumulating sodium and chloride ions in the soil, leading to reduced plant growth and yield. This stress damages plant cells through oxidative stress and disrupts metabolic processes. In this study, the effects of different salinity levels (0, 2.5, and 5 dS/m) and salicylic acid foliar application (0, 0.5, and 1 mM) on purslane (Portulaca oleracea) were investigated using a completely randomized factorial design with three replications. The results showed that salinity reduced plant growth and negatively affected chlorophyll a and b content. However, the application of salicylic acid (1 mM) mitigated these adverse effects by improving potassium uptake. Although salinity increased sodium and chloride accumulation, salicylic acid improved plant tolerance by reducing oxidative stress and maintaining photosynthetic efficiency. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that salicylic acid can serve as an effective strategy to enhance purslane's resistance under saline conditions.