Foliar Spray Application of Salicylic Acid (C7H6O3) On Turnip Plants Grown with Saline Irrigation

Abstract

Water quality is a concern to everyone. How to manage water in a specific situation can both be a practical and financial challenge. The impact of irrigation water on soil and plants depends on the water, soil, crop, and environmental conditions. Due to continuous increase in world population and competition among industrial and agricultural sectors for fresh water, it is opined that after every 35 years, water requirement will be doubled. In this scenario, use of underground saline water for crop production with acceptable economic yield is a viable strategy. Salicylic acid (SA) is key hormone that has been shown to protect various plant species against abiotic stress. Therefore, a pot study was conducted during 2019 to investigate the effect of exogenous application of salicylic acid (dissolved in Ethanol and sprayed using tap water) and 4 synthetic saline waters on yield of turnip. The treatments were: Saline water irrigation levels A: Tap water 0.80, 3, 5 and 7 dS m^-1 and B: SA Spray (0, 150, 300 and 450 mg/L). Foliar sprays were applied 08 times during crop growing season. The experiment was conducted in factorial design having three repeats. Crop was harvested and yield data was recorded. Results revealed that maximum turnip yield (485.92 g/pot) was recorded with tap water and increasing levels of saline water irrigation decreased the turnip yield and minimum turnip yield (253.50 g/pot) was observed at 7 dS m^-1. Among SA levels, SA at 300 mg/L produced maximum turnip yield (402 g/pot). Interaction showed that maximum yield (381.33 g/pot) was produced with SA sprayed at 300 mg/L with saline irrigation of 3 dS m^-1. Therefore, it was concluded that SA at 300 mg/L was an effective strategy to alleviate the negative effects of saline water irrigation stress of up to3 dS m^-1 for turnip production.