Epibrassinolide and proline alleviate the photosynthetic and yield inhibition under salt stress by acting on antioxidant system in mustard

Soil salinity is one of the major abiotic stress factors that hampers plant growth and productivity by limiting photosynthesis and other related metabolic processes. In this study we investigated whether treatment with proline and/or 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) to two contrasting cultivars of Brassica juncea (L.) Czern and Coss viz. Varuna and RH-30 could counteract with the adverse effects of salinity on photosynthesis and seed yield. Plants were treated with proline and/or 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) at 28 and 29d-stages of growth. Salt stress reduced plant growth, photosynthetic attributes, efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), leaf water potential and finally seed yield, at harvest but improved the activity of antioxidant enzymes in both the cultivars in a concentration dependent manner. Exogenous application of EBL with proline completely neutralised the adverse effects of salt at 78 mM or 117 mM stress levels whereas the treatment partially neutralised the impact of highest salt concentration of 156 mM, through the upregulation of the antioxidant system.