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Effects of NaCl or Na2SO4 salinity on plant growth, ion content and photosynthetic activity in Ocimum basilicum L.

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Abstract

Basil (Ocimum basilicum L., cultivar Genovese) plants were grown in Hoagland solution with or without 50 mM NaCl or 25 mM Na2SO4. After 15 days of treatment, Na2SO4 slowed growth of plants as indicated by root, stem and leaf dry weight, root length, shoot height and leaf area, and the effects were major of those induced by NaCl. Photosynthetic response was decreased more by chloride salinity than by sulphate. No effects in both treatments on leaf chlorophyll content, maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry (F v/F m) and electron transport rate (ETR) were recorded. Therefore, an excess of energy following the limitation to CO2 photoassimilation and a down regulation of PSII photochemistry was monitored under NaCl, which displays mechanisms that play a role in avoiding PSII photodamage able to dissipate this excess energy. Ionic composition (Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+) was affected to the same extent under both types of salinity, thus together with an increase in leaves Cl−, and roots SO4 2− in NaCl and Na2SO4-treated plants, respectively, may have resulted in the observed growth retardation (for Na2SO4 treatment) and photosynthesis activity inhibition (for NaCl treatment), suggesting that those effects seem to have been due to the anionic component of the salts.

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Abbreviations

Φexc :

Quantum efficiency of open PSII reaction centres

ΦPSII :

Quantum efficiency of PSII photochemistry

A sat :

CO2 assimilation rate at light saturation level

Chl a :

Chlorophyll a

Chl b :

Chlorophyll b

C i :

Intercellular CO2 concentration

DW:

Dry weight

ETR:

Electron transport rate

F 0 :

Minimal fluorescence in dark-adapted state

F 0′:

Minimal fluorescence in light adapted state

F m :

Maximal fluorescence in dark adapted state

F m′:

Maximal fluorescence in light adapted state

F s :

Fluorescence yield in steady state conditions

F v/F m :

Maximal photochemical efficiency

G w :

Stomatal conductance to water vapor

E :

Transpiration rate

WUE:

Water use efficiency

q NP :

Non-photochemical quenching coefficient

q P :

Photochemical quenching coefficient

Rubisco:

Ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the University of Pisa (Fondi di Ateneo 2007–2008). Imen Tarchoune staying at the University of Pisa was supported by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physiologie et Biochimie de la Tolérance au Sel des Plantes, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Campus Universitaire, 2092, Tunis, Tunisia

    Imen Tarchoune, Rym Kaddour, Mokhtar Lachaâl & Zeineb Ouerghi

  2. Dipartimento di Biologia delle Piante Agrarie, Università di Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Elena Degl’Innocenti, Lucia Guidi & Flavia Navari-Izzo

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  1. Imen Tarchoune
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  2. Elena Degl’Innocenti
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  3. Rym Kaddour
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  4. Lucia Guidi
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  5. Mokhtar Lachaâl
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  6. Flavia Navari-Izzo
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  7. Zeineb Ouerghi
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Correspondence to Imen Tarchoune.

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Communicated by G. Klobus.

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Tarchoune, I., Degl’Innocenti, E., Kaddour, R. et al. Effects of NaCl or Na2SO4 salinity on plant growth, ion content and photosynthetic activity in Ocimum basilicum L.. Acta Physiol Plant 34, 607–615 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-011-0861-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-011-0861-2

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