Growth and Physiological Response of Viola tricolor L. to NaCl and NaHCO3 Stress

Soil salinization is an important environmental problem worldwide and has a significant impact on the growth of plants. In recent years, the mechanisms of plant salt tolerance have received extensive attention from researchers. In this paper, an experiment was implemented to assess the potential effect of different NaCl and NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate-an alkaline salt) concentrations (25 mmol center dot L-1, 50 mmol center dot L-1, 100 mmol center dot L-1, 150 mmol center dot L-1 and 200 mmol center dot L-1) on the growth, antioxidant enzymes, osmoprotectants, photosynthetic pigments and MDA of Viola tricolor L. to reveal the physiological response and explore the maximum concentrations of NaCl and NaHCO3 stress that V. tricolor can tolerate. The results showed that NaCl and NaHCO3 treatments had significant effects on osmoprotectants, antioxidant enzymes, photosynthetic pigments, MDA content and the plant height growth of V. tricolor. On day 14 of the NaCl and NaHCO3 stress, the height growth of V. tricolor was significantly greater than CK when the concentration of NaCl and NaHCO3 was less than 100 mmol center dot L-1. Soluble protein (SP) was significantly greater than CK when the NaCl concentration was less than 150 mmol center dot L-1 and the NaHCO3 concentration was less than 200 mmol center dot L-1; soluble sugar (SS) was significantly greater than CK under all NaCl and NaHCO3 treatments; proline (Pro) was significantly greater than CK when the NaCl concentration was 150 mmol center dot L-1 and the NaHCO3 concentration were 150 and 200 mmol center dot L-1, respectively. Peroxidase (POD) was significantly greater than CK when the NaCl concentration was less than 200 mmol center dot L-1 and the NaHCO3 concentration was less than 150 mmol center dot L-1; superoxide dismutase (SOD) was significantly greater than CK when the NaCl concentration was 50 mmol center dot L-1 and the NaHCO3 concentrations were 50, 100 and 150 mmol center dot L-1, respectively; catalase (CAT) was significantly greater than CK when the NaCl and NaHCO3 concentrations were 25, 50 and 100 mmol center dot L-1, respectively. Chlorophyll (Chl) was significantly lower than CK when the NaCl and NaHCO3 concentrations were greater than 100 mmol center dot L-1. Malondialdehyde (MDA) gradually increased with the increase in the NaCl and NaHCO3 concentrations. Membership function analysis showed that the concentrations of NaCl and NaHCO3 that V. tricolor was able to tolerate were 150 mmol center dot L-1 and 200 mmol center dot L-1, respectively. Beyond these thresholds, osmoprotectants and antioxidant enzymes were seriously affected, Chl degradation intensified, the photosynthetic system was seriously damaged, and the growth of V. tricolor was severely affected. According to a comprehensive ranking of results, the degree of NaCl stress on V. tricolor was lower than that from NaHCO3 when the treatment concentration was lower than 50 mmol center dot L-1, but higher than that from NaHCO3 when it exceeded 50 mmol center dot L-1.