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Physiological Responses of Pak Choi to Exogenous Foliar Salicylic Acid Under Soil Se Stress

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Abstract

In plants, excess selenium causes general toxic symptoms. However, salicylic acid plays an important role in alleviating toxic effects of various stresses. This study aimed to clarify the role of exogenous foliar salicylic acid on alleviating selenium toxicity of pak choi exposed to moderately and highly Se-excessive soils (4 mg·kg−1 Se and 10 mg·kg−1 Se, respectively). The results showed that Se stress caused severe lipid peroxidation, desynchronization of the antioxidant enzymatic system, and significant decreases in the measures of photosynthetic activity and shoot biomass. Under Se stress conditions, exogenous foliar salicylic acid significantly increased measures of photosynthetic activity and shoot biomass, increased catalase activity, and decreased measures of oxidative stress. Moreover, exogenous salicylic acid significantly enhanced Se accumulation in shoots under Se stress conditions. We demonstrate here that foliar spraying with salicylic acid is an effective measure to alleviate the adverse effects of Se stress and enhance Se accumulation for optimizing crop Se biofortification in Se-excessive soil.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi, China (2020GXNSFBA297014), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41761052), and the projects from Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Guinongke 2020YM109, Guinongke JZ202016, Guinongke 2020YT039, and Guinongkemeng 202014).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Resources and Environment Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, 530007, Guangxi, China

    Jinping Chen, Taiqing Huang, Chengcheng Zeng, Ying Xing, Liping Pan, Qing Liao, Panxia Liang, Zepu Jiang & Yongxian Liu

  2. Guangxi Selenium-Rich Agricultural Research Center, Nanning, 530007, Guangxi, China

    Jinping Chen, Taiqing Huang, Chengcheng Zeng, Ying Xing, Liping Pan, Qing Liao, Panxia Liang, Zepu Jiang & Yongxian Liu

  3. Guangxi Selenium-Rich Agricultural Products Engineering Technology Research Center, Nanning, 530007, Guangxi, China

    Jinping Chen, Taiqing Huang, Chengcheng Zeng, Ying Xing, Liping Pan, Qing Liao, Panxia Liang, Zepu Jiang & Yongxian Liu

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  1. Jinping Chen
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  2. Taiqing Huang
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Chen, J., Huang, T., Zeng, C. et al. Physiological Responses of Pak Choi to Exogenous Foliar Salicylic Acid Under Soil Se Stress. Water Air Soil Pollut 232, 374 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05319-5

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