INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF SALICYLIC ACID AND SODIUM FLUORIDE ON SOME BIOCHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES OF PISUM SATIVUM L.

The aim of the present investigation was to ascertain the impact of salicylic acid on the productivity of the pea plant, Pisum sativum L., grown under sodium fluoride-induced stress. Several biochemical parameters (the photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll "a", chlorophyll "b", total chlorophyll, and carotenoids, total soluble proteins, total phenol content, proline content, and ascorbic acid content were studied in two varieties of Pisum sativum L. (RKS-510 and Classic) during the growth season 2015-2016, subjected to sodium fluoride (NaF) stress by the application of NaF, in concentrations of 50, 100, 150, and 200 ppm, as a soil drench on a biweekly basis and the biweekly exogenous application of salicylic acid as a foliar application, in concentrations of 100, 200 and 300 ppm, both alone and in combination with the NaF soil drench. Control plants were treated biweekly with tap water. The NaF caused toxic effects on the biochemical processes of the plants, with a dose-related gradual reduction in the biochemical attributes, which was alleviated by the salicylic acid. We concluded that the foliar application of salicylic acid increased the salt tolerance of the RKS-510 and Classic cultivars of Pisum sativum L.