Plants (Aug 2023)

Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide Application on Salt Stress Mitigation in Bell Pepper (<i>Capsicum annuum</i> L.)

  • Jéssica Aragão,
  • Geovani Soares de Lima,
  • Vera Lúcia Antunes de Lima,
  • André Alisson Rodrigues da Silva,
  • Jessica Dayanne Capitulino,
  • Edmilson Júnio Medeiros Caetano,
  • Francisco de Assis da Silva,
  • Lauriane Almeida dos Anjos Soares,
  • Pedro Dantas Fernandes,
  • Maria Sallydelândia Sobral de Farias,
  • Hans Raj Gheyi,
  • Lucyelly Dâmela Araújo Borborema,
  • Thiago Filipe de Lima Arruda,
  • Larissa Fernanda Souza Santos

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12162981
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 16
p. 2981

Abstract

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The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of the foliar application of hydrogen peroxide on the attenuation of salt stress on the growth, photochemical efficiency, production and water use efficiency of ‘All Big’ bell pepper plants. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions in Campina Grande, PB, Brazil. Treatments were distributed in a randomized block design, in a 5 × 5 factorial scheme, corresponding to five levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water (0.8, 1.2, 2.0, 2.6 and 3.2 dS m−1) and five concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 μM), with three replicates. Foliar application of hydrogen peroxide at concentration of 15 μM attenuated the deleterious effects of salt stress on photochemical efficiency, biomass accumulation and production components of bell pepper plants irrigated using water with an electrical conductivity of up to 3.2 dS m−1. Foliar spraying of hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 60 μM intensified the effects of salt stress. The ‘All Big’ bell pepper was classified as moderately sensitive to salt stress, with an irrigation water salinity threshold of 1.43 dS m−1 and a unit decrease of 8.25% above this salinity level.

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