Salicylic Acid Alleviates Moderate Salinity-Induced Stress in Petroselinum crispum (Mill.), within Reduced Effectiveness under Prolonged High Salinity Conditions
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study elucidates the role of salicylic acid (SA) in modulating salinity stress responses in parsley through a controlled RCBD experiment at Taiz University. Plants exposed to incremental NaCl concentrations (0–200 mM) either alone or in combination with three SA concentrations (0, 0.1, and 0.5 mM) exhibited dose-dependent growth inhibition. With 200 mM NaCl, reduced shoot length by 42% and dry matter by 35%, while concurrently suppressing protein content (28%) and catalase activity (40%) but elevating proline accumulation (69%). SA application (0.1 mM) significantly alleviated moderate stress (100 mM NaCl), restoring physiological parameters and enhancing antioxidant defenses, notably increasing catalase activity by 30–35% and reducing proline by 25–30%. Intriguingly, SA’s efficacy was temporally constrained, with optimal protection at 15 days that diminished under prolonged exposure. Biochemical profiling revealed a stress-threshold response: ascorbate peroxidase activity remained stable at ≤ 150 mM NaCl but increased 20–25% at 50–100 mM NaCl with 0.5 mM SA. Critically, high SA (0.5 mM) synergized with extreme salinity (200 mM NaCl) to induce complete mortality, demonstrating a concentration-dependent phytotoxic shift. These findings establish 0.1 mM SA and 100 mM NaCl as critical thresholds for stress mitigation.
Institutions: Sana'a University, Taiz University
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4411808692