Alleviation of Adverse Effects of Salinity Stress on Cauliflower by Foliar Application of Trehalose
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Cauliflower, also known as (Brassica oleracea L. var.botrytis), is both a valuable vegetable crop in terms of its economic and nutritional value.However, growing conditions can be severely limited by salinity, an abiotic stressor that reduces productivity due to ionic imbalance, poor photosynthesis rates and oxidative damage to plants.The sugar trehalose is known for its ability to osmotically protect proteins from denatured states and increase water use efficiency.This research assessed whether applying trehalose to the foliage of cauliflower could potentially reduce the impact of salinity on quality and yield.The experiment was conducted at the Vegetable Research Area in the Institute of Horticultural Sciences at the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad (UAF) using the cauliflower cultivar HCF-981A that had been grown from seedlings on a system consisting of pots of 7 kg of soil.The study was laid out in CRD with the following treatments: Control; 50 mM Trehalose; 100 mM Trehalose; 7 dS/m NaCl; 7 dS/m NaCl plus 50 mM Trehalose; 7 dS/m NaCl plus 100 mM Trehalose; 14 dS/m NaCl; 14 dS/m NaCl plus 50 mM Trehalose; and 14 dS/m NaCl plus 100 mM Trehalose, three replications per treatment (totalling 27 experimental units).The analysis involved ANOVA at the 5% probability level, and when significant Differences in treatment means occurred, the LSD test was performed.Salinity significantly decreased the variables measured (motif leaf number; leaf area; leaf fresh weight; leaf dry weight; curd fresh weight; curd diameter; chlorophyll content; antioxidant enzymes activities (POD, CAT, SOD), vitamin C, and Total Soluble Solids) while increasing malondialdehyde (MDA), a measure of oxidative damage.Curd dry weight data did not show significant differences.Curd weight, chlorophyll content, vitamin C content, and antioxidant enzyme activity improved significantly with the foliar spray of 100 mM trehalose for both saline and non-saline conditions.The foliar spray of 100 mM trehalose greatly increased curd fresh weight and reduced MDA levels compared to the control, under 7 dS/m salinity.Therefore, trehalose applied foliarly may be an effective way to increase salt tolerance and maintain cauliflower productivity in saline growing conditions.
Source: Scientific Records
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7169674050