Improvement of the chilling tolerance of ‘Monika’ cucumber seedlings by short-term temperature and seed conditioning with plant growth regulators

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to improve the chilling tolerance of cucumber seedlings. The conditioned seeds in solutions of salicylic or jasmonic acid in concentrations of 10-2, 10-3 or 10-4 M or brassinolide in concentrations of 10-6, 10-8 or 10-10 M were subjected to temperature shock of 0, 2.5, 5, 35, 40 or 45°C for 1, 2 or 4 hours. Seedlings with 3 mm roots were chilled at 0°C for three days. The chilling susceptibility was evaluated by measurements of roots lengths, electrolyte leakage and total dehydrogenase activity.

Keywords

• brassinolide
• cucumis sativus l.
• electrolyte leakage
• jasmonic acid
• salicylic acid
• temperature stress
• total dehydrogenase activity