Abstract
In irrigated agriculture, soil salinity threatens the sustainability of crop productivity and global food security by reducing water quantity and quality. Therefore, foliar spraying with protectants has proven to be an efficient method for diminishing the effects of salt stress and boosting crop growth performance. The present study was conducted to explore the effects of different doses of salicylic acid (SA) on evapotranspiration (ET), yield, growth, and physiology of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under saline irrigation conditions. Additionally, response surface methodology was employed to identify the most effective dose of SA for lettuce plants under saline irrigation conditions. At the lowest salinity (0.30 dS m−1), 1.0 mM and 2.0 mM SA foliar applications increased yield by 29.7% and 6.8%, respectively, compared with 0 mM SA. At the same salinity, chlorophyll content and stomata increased by 35.6% and 22.6%, respectively, at 1.0 mM SA and 10.4% and 8.2%, respectively, at 2.0 mM SA compared to the 0 mM SA dose condition. Moreover, ET was reduced by 56.4%, 50.1%, and 55.5% at 0, 1, and 2 mM SA doses, respectively, when water salinity increased from 0.30 to 8.0 dS m−1. The optimal SA dose and irrigation water salinity were identified as 0.88 mM and 0.32 dS m−1, respectively. In conclusion, this study provides important guidelines for the effective use of SA in lettuce production under salt-stress conditions, with implications for improving the quantitative and qualitative traits of lettuce irrigated with saline water in regions of freshwater scarcity.
Similar content being viewed by others
Change history
03 November 2023
An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-023-00945-x
References
Abdel-ilah T, Reklami A, Bechtaoui N, Anli M, Boustasknit A, Oufdou K, Meddich A (2022) Beneficial effects of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and compost on lettuce (Lactuca sativa) growth under field conditions. Gesunde Pflanzen 74(1):219–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-021-00604-z
Abdoli S, Ghassemi-Golezani K, Alizadeh-Salteh S (2020) Responses of ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi L.) to exogenous salicylic acid and iron oxide nanoparticles under salt stress. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 27:36939–36953. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09453-1
Ait-El-Mokhtar M, Laouane RB, Anli M, Boutasknit A, Wahbi S, Meddich A (2019) Use of mycorrhizal fungi in improving tolerance of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seedlings to salt stress. Sci Hortic 253:429–438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2019.04.066
Anli M, Boutasknit A, Ait-El-Mokhtar M, Ben-Laouane R, Ait-Rahou Y, Fakhech A, Meddich A (2022) Improving lettuce yield and quality of an agricultural soil using a combination of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus and phosphate-green wastes compost. Gesunde Pflanzen 74(1):205–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-021-00603-0
Ben-Laouane R, Baslam M, Ait-El-Mokhtar M, Anli M, Boutasknit A, Ait-Rahou Y, Toubali S, Mitsui T, Oufdou K, Wahbi S, Meddich A (2020) Potential of native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, rhizobia, and/or green compost as alfalfa (Medicago sativa) enhancers under salinity. Microorganisms 8(11):1695. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8111695
Candioti VL, De Zan MM, Cámara MS, Goicoechea HC (2014) Experimental design and multiple response optimization. Using the desirability function in analytical methods development. Talanta 124:123–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2014.01.034
Ciric A, Krajnc B, Heath D, Ogrinc N (2020) Response surface methodology and artificial neural network approach for the optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of polyphenols from garlic. Food Chem Toxicol 135:110976. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2019.110976
CSSRI (Central Soil Salinity Research Institute) (2014) Vision 2050. Pragmatic assessment of the agricultural production and food demand scenario of India by the year 2050. Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal
Dawood MF, Zaid A, Latef AAHA (2022) Salicylic acid spraying-induced resilience strategies against the damaging impacts of drought and/or salinity stress in two varieties of Vicia faba L. seedlings. J Plant Growth Regul 41(5):1919–1942. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-021-10381-8
Derringer G, Suich R (1980) Simultaneous optimization of several response variables. J Qual Technol 12:214–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224065.1980.11980968
Desire M, Arslan H (2021) The effect of salicylic acid on photosynthetic characteristics, growth attributes, and some antioxidant enzymes on parsley (Petroselinum crispum L.) under salinity stress. Gesunde Pflanzen 73:435–444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-021-00565-3
El-Taher AM, El-Raouf AHS, Osman NA et al (2021) Effect of salt stress and foliar application of salicylic acid on morphological, biochemical, anatomical, and productivity characteristics of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.). Plants (Basel) 11:115. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11010115
Faghih S, Ghobadi C, Zarei A (2017) Response of strawberry plant cv. ‘Camarosa’ to salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate application under salt stress condition. J Plant Growth Regul 36:651–659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-017-9666-x
Fairoj SA, Islam MM, Islam MA et al (2022) Salicylic acid improves agro-morphology, yield and ion accumulation of two wheat (Triticum aestivum l.) genotypes by ameliorating the impact of salt stress. Agronomy 13(1):25. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13010025
Garrido Y, Tudela JA, Marín A et al (2014) Physiological, phytochemical and structural changes of multi-leaf lettuce caused by salt stress. J Sci Food Agric 94:1592–1599. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.6462
Gharbi E, Lutts S, Dailly H, Quinet M (2018) Comparison between the impacts of two different modes of salicylic acid application on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) responses to salinity. Plant Signal Behav. https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2018.1469361
Ghassemi-Golezani K, Farhadi N (2022) The efficacy of salicylic acid levels on photosynthetic activity, growth, and essential oil content and composition of pennyroyal plants under salt stress. J Plant Growth Regul 41:1953–1965. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-021-10515-y
Ghassemi-Golezani K, Hassanzadeh N, Shakiba MR, Esmaeilpour B (2020) Exogenous salicylic acid and 24-epi-brassinolide improve antioxidant capacity and secondary metabolites of Brassica nigra. Biocatal Agric Biotechnol 26:101636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcab.2020.101636
Hayat Q, Hayat S, Irfan M, Ahmad A (2010) Effect of exogenous salicylic acid under changing environment: a review. Environ Exp Bot 68:14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2009.08.005
Hidalgo-Santiago L, Navarro-León E, López-Moreno FJ, Arjó G, González LM, Ruiz JM, Blasco B (2021) The application of the silicon-based biostimulant Codasil® offset water deficit of lettuce plants. Sci Hortic 285:110177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110177
Hopmans JW, Qureshi AS, Kisekka I, Munns R, Grattan S, Rengasamy P, Ben-Gal A, Assuline S, Javaux M, Minhas PS, Raats PAC, Skaggs TH, Wang G, De Jong van Lier Q, Jiao H, Lavado RS, Lazarovitch N, Li B, Taleisnik E (2021) Critical knowledge gaps and research priorities in global soil salinity. Adv Agron 169:1–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2021.03.001
Jamalian S, Mahmoodi-Eshkaftaki M (2021) Developing a hybrid technique to optimize abscisic acid concentration in a saline condition: a multi-objective strategy to improve strawberry phenolic acids and growth factors. Comput Electron Agric. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2021.106459
Jannesar M, Seyedi SM, Niknam V et al (2022) Salicylic acid, as a positive regulator of isochorismate synthase, reduces the negative effect of salt stress on Pistacia vera L. by increasing photosynthetic pigments and inducing antioxidant activity. J Plant Growth Regul 41:1304–1315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-021-10383-6
Jayakannan M, Bose J, Babourina O et al (2015) Salicylic acid in plant salinity stress signalling and tolerance. Plant Growth Regul 76:25–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-015-0028-z
Kaur H, Hussain SJ, Kaur G et al (2022) Salicylic acid improves nitrogen fixation, growth, yield and antioxidant defence mechanisms in chickpea genotypes under salt stress. J Plant Growth Regul 41:2034–2047. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-022-10592-7
Kaya C, Ashraf M, Alyemeni MN, Ahmad P (2020) The role of endogenous nitric oxide in salicylic acid-induced up-regulation of ascorbate-glutathione cycle involved in salinity tolerance of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plants. Plant Physiol Biochem 147:10–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2019.11.040
Kaya C, Sarıoglu A, Ashraf M, Alyemeni MN, Ahmad P (2022) The combined supplementation of melatonin and salicylic acid effectively detoxifies arsenic toxicity by modulating phytochelatins and nitrogen metabolism in pepper plants. Environ Pollut 297:118727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118727
Khalifa GS, Abdelrassoul M, Hegazi AM, Elsherif MH (2016) Attenuation of negative effects of saline stress in two lettuce cultivars by salicylic acid and glycine betaine. Gesunde Pflanzen 68:177–189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-016-0376-2
Khan MIR, Fatma M, Per TS et al (2015) Salicylic acid-induced abiotic stress tolerance and underlying mechanisms in plants. Front Plant Sci 6:462. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2015.00462
Kiremit MS, Arslan H (2016) Effects of irrigation water salinity on drainage water salinity, evapotranspiration and other leek (Allium porrum L.) plant parameters. Sci Hortic 201:211–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2016.02.001
Kiremit MS, Osman HM, Arslan H (2023) Response of yield, growth traits, and leaf nutrients of garden cress to deficit saline irrigation waters. J Plant Nutr 46:1050–1065. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2022.2072333
Kurunc A (2021) Effects of water and salinity stresses on growth, yield, and water use of iceberg lettuce. J Sci Food Agric 101:5688–5696. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.11223
Kusvuran S, Yilmaz UD (2023) Ameliorative role of salicylic acid in the growth, nutrient content, and antioxidative responses of salt-stressed lettuce. asphc 22:75–85. https://doi.org/10.24326/asphc.2023.4603
Lamnai K, Anaya F, Fghire R et al (2021) Impact of exogenous application of salicylic acid on growth, water status and antioxidant enzyme activity of strawberry plants (Fragaria vesca L.) under salt stress conditions. Gesunde Pflanzen 73:465–478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-021-00567-1
Li T, Hu Y, Du X et al (2014) Salicylic acid alleviates the adverse effects of salt stress in Torreya grandis cv. Merrillii seedlings by activating photosynthesis and enhancing antioxidant systems. PLoS ONE 9:e109492. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109492
Mahdavian K (2023) Application of salicylic acid on chlorophyll, carotenoids, and proline in radish under salinity stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci India Sect B Biol Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-023-01484-1
Mahmoodi-Eshkaftaki M, Rafiee MR (2020) Optimization of irrigation management: a multi-objective approach based on crop yield, growth, evapotranspiration, water use efficiency and soil salinity. J Clean Prod 252:119901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119901
Mittler R, Zandalinas SI, Fichman Y, Van Breusegem F (2022) Reactive oxygen species signalling in plant stress responses. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 23(10):663–679. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-022-00499-2
Montgomery DC (2020) Design and analysis of experiments, 10th edn. Wiley, pp 1–682
Munns R, Passioura JB, Colmer TD, Byrt CS (2020) Osmotic adjustment and energy limitations to plant growth in saline soil. New Phytol 225:1091–1096. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15862
Naeem M, Basit A, Ahmad I et al (2020) Effect of salicylic acid and salinity stress on the performance of tomato plants. Gesunde Pflanzen 72:393–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-020-00521-7
Nigam B, Dubey RS, Rathore D (2022) Protective role of exogenously supplied salicylic acid and PGPB (Stenotrophomonas sp.) on spinach and soybean cultivars grown under salt stress. Sci Hortic 293:110654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110654
Qados AMSA (2015) Effects of salicylic acid on growth, yield and chemical contents of pepper (Capsicum annuum L) plants grown under salt stress conditions. Int J Agric Crop Sci 8:107–113
Raghuvanshi R, Srivastava AK, Verulkar S, Suprasanna P (2021) Unlocking allelic diversity for sustainable development of salinity stress tolerance in rice. Curr Genomics 22:393. https://doi.org/10.2174/1389202922666211005121412
Rhoades JD, Manteghi NA, Shouse PJ, Alves WJ (1989) Soil electrical conductivity and soil salinity: new formulations and calibrations. Soil Sci Soc Am J 53:433–439. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1989.03615995005300020020x
Şalk A, Arın L, Deveci M, Polat S (2008) Special vegetables. University of Namık Kemal, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulturae, Tekirdağ
Sardar H, Khalid Z, Ahsan M, Naz S, Nawaz A, Ahmad R, Razzaq K, Wabaidur SM, Jacquard C, Širić I, Kumar P, Abou Fayssal S (2023) Enhancement of salinity stress tolerance in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) via foliar application of nitric oxide. Plants 12(5):1115. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12051115
Singh A (2022) Soil salinity: A global threat to sustainable development. Soil Use Manage 38(1):39–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12772
Souri MK, Tohidloo G (2019) Effectiveness of different methods of salicylic acid application on growth characteristics of tomato seedlings under salinity. Chem Biol Technol Agric 6(1):1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40538-019-0169-9
Srivastava P, Kumar R (2015) Soil salinity: a serious environmental issue and plant growth promoting bacteria as one of the tools for its alleviation. Saudi J Biol Sci 22:123–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2014.12.001
Szepesi Á (2005) Role of salicylic acid pre-treatment on the acclimation of tomato plants to salt-and osmotic stress. Acta Biol Szeged 49(1–2):123–125
Tian F, Hou M, Qiu Y, Zhang T, Yuan Y (2020) Salinity stress effects on transpiration and plant growth under different salinity soil levels based on Thermal Infrared Remote (TIR) technique. Geoderma 357:113961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.113961
Toubali S, Tahiri AI, Anli M, Symanczik S, Boutasknit A, Ait-El-Mokhtar M, Ben-Laouane R, Oufdou K, Ait-Rahou Y, Ben-Ahmed H, Jemo M, Hafidi M, Meddich A (2020) Physiological and biochemical behaviors of date palm vitroplants treated with microbial consortia and compost in response to salt stress. Appl Sci 10(23):8665. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10238665
Ünlükara A, Cemek B, Karaman S, Erşahin S (2008) Response of lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. Crispa) to salinity of irrigation water. N Z J Crop Hortic Sci 36:265–273. https://doi.org/10.1080/01140670809510243
Ünlükara A, Kurunc A, Cemek B (2015) Green long pepper growth under different saline and water regime conditions and usability of water consumption in plant salt tolerance. J Agric Sci 21(2):167–176. https://doi.org/10.1501/Tarimbil_0000001318
Varanda C, Portugal I, Ribeiro J et al (2017) Optimization of bitumen formulations using mixture design of experiments (MDOE). Constr Build Mater 156:611–620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.08.146
Venkatesan M, Zaib Q, Shah IH, Park HS (2019) Optimum utilization of waste foundry sand and fly ash for geopolymer concrete synthesis using D‑optimal mixture design of experiments. Resour Conserv Recycl 148:114–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.05.008
Wakchaure GC, Minhas PS, Meena KK et al (2020) Effect of plant growth regulators and deficit irrigation on canopy traits, yield, water productivity and fruit quality of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) grown in the water scarce environment. J Environ Manage 262:110320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110320
Xu Z, Jiang Y, Zhou G (2015) Response and adaptation of photosynthesis, respiration, and antioxidant systems to elevated CO2 with environmental stress in plants. Front Plant Sci 6:701. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2015.00701
Yildirim E, Turan M, Guvenc I (2008) Effect of foliar salicylic acid applications on growth, chlorophyll, and mineral content of cucumber grown under salt stress. J Plant Nutr 31:593–612. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904160801895118
Youssef S, Abd Elhady SAE, Abu El-Azm NAI, El-Shinawy MZ (2017) Foliar application of salicylic acid and calcium chloride enhances growth and productivity of lettuce (Lactuca sativa). Egypt J Hortic 44:1–16. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejoh.2017.892.1000
Zahra N, Raza ZA, Mahmood S (2020) Effect of salinity stress on various growth and physiological attributes of two contrasting maize genotypes. Braz Arch Biol Technol 63:e20200072. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4324-2020200072
Zhang G, Wang Y, Wu K, Zhang Q, Feng Y, Miao Y, Yan Z (2021) Exogenous application of chitosan alleviate salinity stress in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Horticulturae 7(10):342. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7100342
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
M.S. Kiremit declares that he has no competing interests.
Additional information
The original online version of this article was revised: The table header of Table 3 was incomplete.
The table should have appeared as shown below.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature oder sein Lizenzgeber (z.B. eine Gesellschaft oder ein*e andere*r Vertragspartner*in) hält die ausschließlichen Nutzungsrechte an diesem Artikel kraft eines Verlagsvertrags mit dem/den Autor*in(nen) oder anderen Rechteinhaber*in(nen); die Selbstarchivierung der akzeptierten Manuskriptversion dieses Artikels durch Autor*in(nen) unterliegt ausschließlich den Bedingungen dieses Verlagsvertrags und dem geltenden Recht.
About this article
Cite this article
Kiremit, M.S. Optimization of Salicylic Acid Dose to Improve Lettuce Growth, Physiology and Yield Under Salt Stress Conditions. Journal of Crop Health 76, 269–283 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-023-00930-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-023-00930-4