Abstract
The study was conducted to clarify the effects of silicon on the salt-sensitive ‘Perfection’ and ‘Midnight’ Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.). The 400 mM NaCl treatment reduced shoot length, fresh and dry weight of shoot and root as well as relative water content and chlorophyll and carotenoid content in both cultivars. The NaCl caused an increase in electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde concentration and H2O2 in both cultivars. This physiological interferences and visually noticeable disturbances in Kentucky bluegrass were significantly alleviated by the addition of silicon after salt stress. In ‘Perfection’, for example, 0.1 mM silicon application after NaCl treatment significantly increased in the shoot length by 48%, the fresh weight of the shoot by 72%, the relative water content by 61%, and the total chlorophyll content by 57%. Compared to the NaCl-only treatment, significant reduction in the electrolyte leakage and the concentration of malondialdehyde and H2O2 were observed in silicon treatment.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Agarie, S., N. Hanaoka, O. Ueno, A. Miyazaki, F. Kubota, W. Agata, and P.B. Kaufman. 1998. Effects of silicon on tolerance to water deficit and heat stress in rice plant (Oryza sativa L.), monitored by electrolyte leakage. Plant Prod. Sci. 1:96–103.
Ahmad, R., S.H. Zaheer, and S. Ismail. 1992. The role of silicon in salt tolerance of wheat (Triticum aestiuvum L.). Plant Sci. 85:43–50.
Alian, A., A. Altman, and B. Heuer. 2000. Genotype difference in salinity and water stress tolerance of fresh market tomato cultivars. Plant Sci. 152:59–65.
Apse. M.P. and E. Blumwald. 2002. Engineering salt tolerance in plants. Curr. Opin. Biotech. 13:146–150.
Asada, K. 1994. Production and action of active oxygen species in photosynthetic tissues, p. 100–104. In: H. Foyer and P.M. Mullineaux (eds.). Causes of photooxidative stress and amelioration of defense systems in plants. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
Barr, H.D. and P.E. Weatherley. 1962. A re-examination of the relative turgidity technique for estimating water deficit in leaves. Aust. J. Biol. Sci. 15:413–428.
Belkhodja, R., F. Morales, A. Abadia, J. Gomez-Aparisi, and J. Abadia. 1994. Chlorophyll fluorescence as a possible tool for salinity tolerance screening in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Plant Physiol. 104:667–673.
Bonilla, P.S. and M. Tsuchiya. 1998. Induction of salt tolerance in rice by silica treatment. Philip. J. Crop Sci. 23:35–44.
Borsani, O., V. Valpuesta, and M.A. Botella. 2001. Evidence for a role of salicylic acid in the oxidative damage generated by NaCl and osmotic stress in Arabidopsis seedlings. Plant Physiol. 126: 1024–1030.
Chen, T.H. and N. Murata. 2002. Enhancement of tolerance to abiotic stress by metabolic engineering of betaine and other compatible solutes. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 5:250–257.
Davis, K.J.A. 1995. Oxidative stress: The paradox of aerobic life, p. 1–32. In: C. Rice-Evans, B. Halliwell, and G.G. Lunt (eds.). Free radicals and oxidative stress: Environment, drugs, and food additives. Biochem. Soc. Symp. 61., Portlant Press, London, U.K.
Dudeck, A.E., C.H. Peacock, and J.C. Wildmon. 1993. Physiological and growth responses of St. Augustinegrass cultivars to salinity. HortScience 28:46–48.
Epstein, E. 1994. The anomaly of silicon in plant biology. Proc. Ntal. Acad. Sci. USA 91:11–17.
Fadzilla, N.M., R.P. Finch, and R.H. Burdon. 1997. Salinity, oxidative stress and antioxidant reponses in shoot cultures of rice. J. Exp. Bot. 48:325–331.
Gong, H.J., X.Y. Zhu, K.M. Chen, S.M. Wang, and C.L. Zhang. 2005. Silicon alleviates oxidative damage of wheat plants in pots under drought. Plant Sci. 169:313–321.
Heath, R.L. and L. Pacher. 1968. Photo peroxidation in isolated chloroplast I. Kinetics and stoichemistry of fatty acid peroxidation. Arch. Biochem. Biophy. 125:189–198.
Hoagland, D.R. and D.I. Arnon. 1950. The water-culture method for growing plants without soil. Circ. 347. Univ. of Calif. Agric. Exp. Station, Berkley.
Hurkman, W.J. and C.K. Tanaka. 1986. Solublization of plant membrane proteins for analysis by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Plant Physiol. 81:802–806.
Kaya, C., B.E. AK, D. Higgs, and B. Murillo-Amador. 2002. Influence of foliar applied calcium nitrate on strawberry plants grown under salt stress conditions. Aust. J. Exp. Agric. 42:631–636.
Korndorfer, G.H. and I. Lepsch. 2001. Effect of silicon on plant growth and crop yield, p. 133–147. In: L.E. Datonoff, G.H. Korndorfer, and G.H. Synder (eds.). Silicon in agriculture. Elsevier Science, New York.
Liang, Y.C. 1999. Effects of silicon on enzyme activity, and sodium, potassium and calcium concentration in barley under salt stress. Plant Soil 209:217–224.
Liang, Y.C., Q. Chen, W.H. Zhang, and R.X. Ding. 2003. Exogenous silicon (Si) increase antioxidant enzyme activity and reduces lipid peroxidation in roots of salt-stressed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). J. Plant Physiol. 160:1157–1164.
Liang, Y.C., Q.R. Shen, Z.G. Shen, and T.S. Ma. 1996. Effects of silicon on salinity tolerance of two barley cultivars. J. Plant Nutr. 19:173–183.
Liang, Y.C., W.H. Zhang, Q. Chen, and R.X. Ding. 2005. Effects of silicon on tonoplast H+-ATPase and H+-PPase activity, fatty acid composition and fluidity in roots of salt-stressed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Environ. Exp. Bot. 53:29–37.
Lichtenthaler, H.K. 1987. Chlorophylls and carotenoids: Pigments of photosynthetic biomembranes. Methods Enzymol. 148:350–382.
Liu, J., X. Xie, J. Du, J. Sun, and X. Bai. 2008. Effects of simultaneous drought and heat stress on kentucky bluegrass. Scientia Hort. 115:190–195.
Lutts, S., J.M. Kinet, and J. Bouharmont. 1996. NaCl-induced senescence in leaves of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars differing in salinity resistance. Ann. Bot. 78:389–398.
Ma, J.F. 2004. Role of silicon in enhancing the resistance of plants to biotic and abiotic stresses. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 50:11–18.
Ma, J.F. and Y. Naoki. 2006. Silicon uptake and accumulation in higher plants. Trends Plant Sci. 11:392–397.
Ma, J.F. and E. Takahashi. 2002. Soil, fertilizer, and plant silicon research in Japan. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam.
Matoh, T., P. Kairusmee, and E. Takahashi. 1986. Salt-induced damage to rice plants and alleviation effect of silicate. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 32:295–304.
Miyake, Y. 1992. The effect of silicon on the salt tolerance of cucumber and tomato plants, p. 93–99. Scientific reports of the faculty of agriculture. Vol. 80. Okayama University, Okayama.
Stamatakis, A., N. Papadantonakis, D. Savvas, N. Lydakis-Simantiris, and P. Kefalas. 2003. Effect of silicon and salinity on fruit yield and quality of tomato grown hydroponically. Acta Hort. 609: 141–147.
Velikova, V., I. Yordanov, and A. Edreva. 2000. Oxidative stress and antioxidant systems in acid rain-treated bean plants-protective some of exogenous polyamines. Plant Sci. 151:59–66.
Yeo, A.R., M.E. Yeo, S.A. Flowers, and T.J. Flowers. 1990. Screening of rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes for physiological characters contributing to salinity resistance, and their relationship to overall performance. Theor. Appl. Gen. 79:377–384.
Zhu, Z.J., G.Q. Wei, J. Li, Q.Q. Qian, and J.Q. Yu. 2004. Silicon alleviates salt stress and increases antioxidant enzymes activity in leaves of salt-stressed cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Plant Sci. 167:527–533.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bae, E.J., Lee, K.S., Huh, M.R. et al. Silicon significantly alleviates the growth inhibitory effects of NaCl in salt-sensitive ‘Perfection’ and ‘Midnight’ Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.). Hortic. Environ. Biotechnol. 53, 477–483 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-012-0094-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-012-0094-3