Dry Matter Partitioning and Salt Tolerance via Salicylic Acid Treatment in Strawberry Plant Under Salt Stress

The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of exogenous salicylic acid (SA) on strawberry plants under NaCl stress. The strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) cv Kabarla was used in the experiment. Until the beginning of the experiment, all plants were irrigated with tap water and 1-month after planting, all plants were applied with three different SA doses (1, 2 and 4 mM) and were watered with 35 mM NaCl solution. Control and salt plants were not applied with SA, salt plants were watered with NaCl solution and compared to controls. Three months after the salinity (in March), salt stress decreased root volume by 37% compared to control. Overall, 4 mM SA and control had the highest values of root tissue density (0.113 and 0.117 g cm(-3), respectively). Moreover, 4 mM SA treatment increased stomatal conductance by 87% compared to salt plants. The dry matter was less partitioned to roots in salt stressed strawberry plant. Dry matter partitioning between shoots and roots was differently affected by supply of SA under salinity condition.