Acute and Rapid Response of <i>Melissa officinalis</i> and <i>Mentha spicata</i> to Saline Reclaimed Water in Terms of Water Relations, Hormones, Amino Acids and Plant Oxylipins
María José Gómez-Bellot,
Beatriz Lorente,
Sonia Medina,
Ángel Gil-Izquierdo,
Thierry Durand,
Jean-Marie Galano,
Sergio Vicente-Sánchez,
María Fernanda Ortuño,
María Jesús Sánchez-Blanco
Affiliations
María José Gómez-Bellot
Department of Irrigation, CEBAS-CSIC, University Campus of Espinardo–Edif. 25, 30100 Espinardo, Spain
Beatriz Lorente
Department of Irrigation, CEBAS-CSIC, University Campus of Espinardo–Edif. 25, 30100 Espinardo, Spain
Sonia Medina
Research Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, University Campus of Espinardo–Edif. 25, 30100 Espinardo, Spain
Ángel Gil-Izquierdo
Research Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, University Campus of Espinardo–Edif. 25, 30100 Espinardo, Spain
Thierry Durand
Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), Pôle Chimie Balard Recherche, UMR 5247, CNRS, University of Montpellier, ENSCM, 34090 Montpellier, France
Jean-Marie Galano
Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), Pôle Chimie Balard Recherche, UMR 5247, CNRS, University of Montpellier, ENSCM, 34090 Montpellier, France
The use of reclaimed water is considered an efficient tool for agricultural irrigation; however, the high salinity associated to this water could compromise plant quality and yields. Balm and spearmint plants were submitted for 15 days to three irrigation treatments in a controlled chamber: control with EC: 1.2 dS m−1 (control), reclaimed water from secondary effluent (EC: 1.6 dS m−1) (S) and water from secondary effluent with brine (EC: 4.4 dS m−1) (SB). The plant water status, stomatal and hormonal regulation, nutritional response, concentration of amino acids and plant oxidative stress-based markers, as well as growth were evaluated. Both species irrigated with saline reclaimed water reduced leaf water potential and gas exchange in comparison with control plants, following 2 days of exposure to irrigation treatments. Nevertheless, spearmint plants recovered photosynthetic activity from the seventh day onwards, maintaining growth. This was attributed to hormonal changes and a greater accumulation of some amino acids and some plant oxylipins (phytoprostanes) in comparison to balm plants, which contributed to the improvement in the organoleptic and health-promoting properties of spearmint. A longer irrigation period with saline reclaimed water would be necessary to assess whether the quality of both species, especially spearmint, could further improve without compromising their growth.
