Dif ferential Ef fect of Silicon on the Interaction with NaCl on the Emergence of Three Varieties of (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Abstract

Salinity stress is one of the environmental problems with the greatest impact on agriculture as it causes morphological, physiological and genetic changes in plants. Considering the great impact of salinity, alternatives are being sought to mitigate stress in plants, especially by sodium chloride (NaCl). Silicon (Si)-based products have the ability to improve plant growth and development when exposed to saline conditions. Thus, the aim of our research was to evaluate the NaCl-Si interaction on seedling emergence of three tomato varieties. The experimental design was completely randomized with a factorial arrangement 32, where factor A was sodium chloride concentrations (0 mM, 25 mM, and 50 mM) and factor B, Si dilutions (0 mM, 1 mM, and 2 mM). Our results indicate that tomato varieties were impacted dif ferently by the NaCl-Si interaction. Under non-saline conditions (0 mM NaCl), Si increased the growth of cherry and saladette tomato, while under moderate salinity conditions (25 mM NaCl) only saladette tomato was benefited.