Physiological and Qualitative Response of Cucurbita pepo L. to Salicylic Acid under Controlled Water Stress Conditions

Limited water stress is one of the most important environmental stresses that affect the growth, quantity and quality of agronomic crops. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of foliar applied salicylic acid (SA) on physiological responses, antioxidant enzymes and qualitative traits of Cucurbita pepo L. Plants exposed to water-stressed conditions in two years of field studies. Irrigation regimes at three soil matric potential levels (-0.3, -1.2 and -1.8 MPa) and SA at four levels (0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg/L) were considered as main plot and sub-plots, respectively. The soil matric potential values (MPa) was measured just before irrigation. Results showed that under water stressed conditions alone, the amounts of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ion leakage were higher compared with control treatment. However, spraying of SA under both water stress and non-stress conditions reduced the values of the above parameters. Water stress increased CAT, APX and GR enzymes activity. However foliar application of SA led to the decrease of CAT, APX and GR under all soil matric potential levels. The amount of carbohydrates and fatty acids increased with the intensity of water stress and SA modulated this response. By increasing SA concentration both in optimum and stress conditions, saturated fatty acids content decreased. According to our data, the SA application is an effective approach to improve pumpkin growth under water stress conditions.

Automated summary

Limited water stress is a significant environmental stress that affects the growth of agronomic crops. This study investigated the effects of foliar application of salicylic acid (SA) on physiological responses, antioxidant enzymes, and quality traits of Cucurbita pepo L. plants under water-stressed conditions. The results showed that SA application reduced the levels of oxidative stress markers and increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes. Additionally, SA modulated the content of carbohydrates and fatty acids in response to water stress. Overall, the application of SA was found to be an effective approach to improve pumpkin growth under water stress conditions.