Effects of exogenous glucose and sucrose on photosynthesis in triticale seedlings under salt stress

Salinization disturbs metabolic processes of plants and results in reduced growth and productivity. In our study, the Dongnong 8809 variety of triticale (xTriticosecale Wittmack) was evaluated for its physiological responses to salt stress during the seedling stage. We evaluated biomass production, relative chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence, and leaf gas-exchange parameters. Our results indicated that salt stress greatly reduced matter accumulation, SPAD value, photosynthetic capacity. However, seedlings treated with exogenous sugars showed significantly enhanced matter accumulation, SPAD value, quantum yield of PSII, electron transport rate, net photosynthetic rate, decreased stomatal limitation value, and improved photosynthetic capacity compared to seedlings treated with salt stress alone. Exogenous glucose and sucrose can alleviate the inhibitory effect of salt stress on the growth of triticale, and of the two exogenous sugars, sucrose had a stronger alleviating effect than that of glucose under salt stress.