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Response of Tomato Plant Under Salt Stress: Role of Exogenous Calcium

Khursheda Parvin
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh

Kamal Uddin Ahamed
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh

Mohammad Mahbub Islam
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh

Md. Nazmul Haque
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Salt stress is one of the most devastating abiotic stress which severely affects the agricultural productivity in various ways. A study was undertaken to investigate the tolerance and mitigation of salt stress in tomato by exogenous application of calcium (Ca²⁺). The experimental results showed that salt stress significantly affects morphology, physiology and fruit weight of tomato. Plant height, leaf number and branch number/plant were decreased with increased levels of salinity mostly at 6 and 8 dS m^-1. Salinity also adversely affected the shoot dry weight, leaf area, leaf chlorophyll content and also fruit weight/plant mostly at 8 dS m^-1. Exogenous application of Ca²⁺significantly mitigates the adverse effects of salinity on plant biomass production or morphology, physiology and fruit production. The plant height, leaf number/plant, branch number/plant, dry weight of shoot/plant, leaf chlorophyll content, fruit weight/plant were increased with the application of calcium in saline condition compared to without calcium. The fruit weight of tomato is gradually decreased with the increased levels of salinity. In case of treatment combinations, the reduction rate of fruit weight of tomato was decreased with increased levels of Ca²⁺ in response to different saline conditions and the lowest fruit weight was recorded at the highest salinity level (8 dS m^-1) along with without Ca²⁺.

Keywords: Calcium, Leaf area, Lycopersicon esculentum, Salt stress, Salt tolerant

Location: Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-10-2013

End Date: 00-03-2014

Program Area: Risk Management in Agriculture

Commodity: Tomato

Objectives:

To investigate the role of Ca2+ in mitigating salt stress-induced response in tomato

Methodology:

Experimental site: A pot experiment was conducted at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh situated at 23°74'N latitude and 90°35'E longitude at an altitude of 8.6 m above the sea level during the period from October, 2013 to March, 2014. The soil of the experimental site was silt loam in texture (sand 20.84%, silt 57.46% and clay 21.7%) with pH 6.9, organic matter 0.86%, available potassium 25 mg kg^-1 and available sodium 70 mg kg^-1. The climate of this area is subtropical. Experimental materials and design: The experiment was placed under venyl house which was made by bamboo with polythene roof and pots were kept on the bamboo made frame of 70 cm height. Seedlings of 30 days of BARI Tomato-5 were used as planting materials in this experiment. Five levels of salinity induced by sodium (Na⁺) viz., 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 d S mG1 and three levels of Ca²⁺in the form of CaSO₄.0.5H₂O viz., 0, 5 and 10 mM were used as treatment variables. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications and comprised of 60 pots. Each pot was 35 cm in diameter and 30 cm in height. Application of sodium and calcium in soil: Tomato plants were treated with 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 ds m^-1 salinity levels which were maintained by adding 0, 12, 27, 48 and 58 g of sodium chloride (NaCl), respectively per pot containing 10 kg soil. These total amounts of salts were applied through irrigation water in three splits at 30, 50 and 70 DAT. As a Na⁺ stress mitigation agent, Ca²⁺ was used in the form of CaSO₄.0.5H₂O at 0, 5 and 10 mM concentration with irrigation water at 30, 50 and 70 Days after Transplanting (DAT). Leaf area/plant (cm²): Leaf area was measured by non-destructive method using CL-202 Leaf Area Meter (USA). Mature leaves were measured all the time and were expressed in cm². Leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD value): Leaf chlorophyll content was measured using a hand-held chlorophyll content SPAD meter (CCM-200, Opti-Science, USA). At each evaluation the content was measure 5 times from five leaves at different positions per plant and the average was used for analysis. Dry weight of leaves and stems/plant (g): After harvesting, all the leaves and stems of plant were collected and sliced into very thin pieces and were put into envelop and placed in oven maintaining at 70°C for 72 h. The samples were then transferred into desiccators and allowed to cool down at room temperature. The final weight of the sample was taken in gram. Chemical analysis of soil sample: Soil samples were analyzed for both physical and chemical properties in the laboratory of the Soil Science department, SAU, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The properties studied included pH, organic matter, available Na and K. The soil was analyzed following standard methods. Particle-size analysis of soil was done by Hydrometer method and soil pH was measured with the help of a glass electrode pH meter using soil water suspension of 1:2.5. Available Na and K content were measured by flame photometer. Statistical analysis: Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Least Significant Difference (LSD) test for the variables at 5% level of probability were conducted using the MSTAT-C Program.

Source of Information: Journal of Plant Sciences 10 (6): 222-233, (2015)

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1. Government

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Considering the above mentioned results, it may be concluded that, the fruit weight of tomato gradually decreased by the increase of salinity levels and this reduction rate was decreased by exogenous supply of calcium. Among the calcium levels, 5 mM showed the highest result in growth, physiology and fruit production as compared to 10 mM. Therefore, this experiment suggests that Ca²⁺ can effectively mitigate the deleterious effect of Na⁺ stress in tomato cultivation. Calcium can be recommended for farmers to use in their fields for alleviating salt stress.

Knowledge Management: Journal