Open Access

ARTICLE

Changes in Growth, Photosynthetic Pigments, Cell Viability, Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Defense System in Two Varieties of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Subjected to Salinity Stress

Zeenat Mushtaq¹, Shahla Faizan¹, Basit Gulzar², Humira Mushtaq³, Sayyada Bushra¹, Alisha Hussain¹, Khalid Rehman Hakeem^4,*

1 Environmental Physiology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India
2 Cellular Differentiation and Molecular Genetics Section, Department of Botany, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, 110062, India
3 Research and Training Centre for Pollinators, Pollinizers and Pollination Management Section, Division of Entomology, SKUAST Kashmir, Srinagar, 190025, India
4 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

* Corresponding Authors: Khalid Rehman Hakeem. Email: ,

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Plant Ecophysiology: Recent Trends and Advancements)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2022, 91(1), 149-168. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2022.016231

Received 19 February 2021; Accepted 25 May 2021; Issue published 16 August 2021

Abstract

Salinity is one of the most severe abiotic stresses for crop production. The present study investigates the salinity-induced modulation in growth indicators, morphology and movement of stomata, photosynthetic pigments, activity of carbonic anhydrase as well as nitrate reductase, and antioxidant systems in two varieties of chickpea (Pusa-BG5023, and Pusa-BGD72). On 20^th day of sowing, plants were treated with varying levels of NaCl (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM) followed by sampling on 45 days of sowing. Recorded observations on both the varieties reveal that salt stress leads to a significant decline in growth, dry biomass, leaf area, photosynthetic pigments, protein content, stomatal behavior, cell viability, activity of nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase with the rise in the concentration of salt. However, quantitatively these changes were less in Pusa-BG5023 as compared to Pusa-BGD72. Furthermore, salinity-induced oxidative stress enhanced malondialdehyde content, superoxide radicals, foliar proline content, and the enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase. The variety Pusa-BGD72 was found more sensitive than Pusa-BG5023 to salt stress. Out of different graded concentrations (50, 100, 150 and 200 mM) of sodium chloride, 50 mM was least toxic, and 200 mM was most damaging. The differential behavior of these two varieties measured in terms of stomatal behavior, cell viability, photosynthetic pigments, and antioxidant defense system can be used as prospective indicators for selection of chickpea plants for salt tolerance and sensitivity.

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