The study of acetylsalicylic acid effects on wheat seeds germination in salt stress conditions

Abstract

The present study was conducted in order to determine whether a treatment using acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) would increase the germinative energy of wheat seeds in conditions of salt stress. Wheat seeds were immersed in six solutions of ASA of different concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 mM) and then germinated in two solutions of different levels of salinity (one replicating normal conditions of salinity in crop soils, and one reproducing the conditions present in salty soil). The optimum concentration of ASA for alleviating the effects of salt stress proved to be 1 mM. The enzymatic activities of three antioxidant enzymes (catalase, peroxidase and poliphenoloxidase) were also monitored in all the experimental variants to determine whether the effects of the ASA on wheat seeds germination were due to its effects on the antioxidant system. The treatment using ASA in 1 mM concentration increased, in high salinity conditions, foremost the catalase activity and less the peroxidase and poliphenoloxidase activity, making catalase the most indicative enzyme in explaining the effects of ASA on saline stress reduction.