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Effects of salicylic acid on yield and quality characters of tomato fruit (Lycopersicon esculentum mill.)

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M. Javaheri
M. Javaheri
M. Javaheri
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Kambiz Mashayekhi at Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
Kambiz Mashayekhi
Alireza Dadkhah at Ferdowsi University Of Mashhad
Alireza Dadkhah
F.Z. Tavallaee
F.Z. Tavallaee
F.Z. Tavallaee
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International Journal of Agriculture and Crop Sciences.
Available online at www.ijagcs.com
IJACS/2012/4-16/1184-1187
ISSN 2227-670X ©2012 IJACS Journal
Effects of salicylic acid on yield and quality
characters of tomato fruit (Lycopersicum esculentum
Mill.)
Mahdi Javaheri1, Kambiz Mashayekhi2, Alireza Dadkhah3, Fateme Zaker Tavallaee3
1. MSc student of Gorgan University of Agricultural and Natural Resources
2. Associate Professor, Gorgan University of Agricultural and Natural Resources
3. Assistant Professor, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Corresponding author email: dadkhah@um.ac.ir
ABSTRACT: In other to study the effects of salicylic acid on yield quantity and quality of tomato, an
experiment was carried out based on randomized complete blocks design with four replications at
research center of Shirvan Agricultural Faculty in 2011. Foliar application of five concentrations of
salicylic acid (0, 10-2, 10-4, 10-6, 10-8 M) were used. Results showed that application of salicylic acid
affected tomato yield and quality characters of tomato fruits so that tomato plants treated with salicylic
acid 10-6 M significantly had higher fruit yield (3059.5 g per bush) compared to non-treated plants (2220 g
per bush) due to an increase in the number of bunch per bush. Results also indicated that application of
salicylic acid significantly improved the fruit quality of tomato. Application of salicylic acid increased the
amount of vitamin C, lycopene, diameter of fruit skin and also increased rate of pressure tolerance of
fruits. Fruit of tomato plants treated with salicylic acid 10-2M significantly had higher vitamin C (32.5 mg
per 100 g of fruit fresh weight) compared to non treated plants (24 mg per 100g fruit fresh weight).
Salicylic acid concentration 10-2 M also increased the diameter of fruit skin (0.54 mm) more than two fold
compared to control (0.26 mm). Fruit Brix index of tomato plants treated with salicylic acid 10-2M
significantly increased (9.3) compared to non-treated plants (5.9). These results suggest that foliar
application of salicylic acid may improve quantity and quality of tomato fruits
.
Key words: Brix, Salicylic acid, Tomato, Vitamin C, Yield.
INTRODUCTION
Salicylic acid (SA) or ortho-hydroxy benzoic acid and other salicylates are known to affect various physiological
and biochemical activities of plants and may play a key role in regulating their growth and productivity (Hayat et al.,
2010). Salicylic acid is considered to be an endogenous growth regulator of phenolic nature that enhanced the leaf
area and dry mass production in corn and soybean (Khan et al., 2003). Enhanced germination and seedling growth
were recorded in wheat, when the grains were subjected to pre-sowing seed-soaking treatment in salicylic acid
(Shakirova, 2007). Fariduddin et al. (2003) reported that the dry matter accumulation was significantly increased in
Brassica juncea, when lower concentrations of salicylic acid were sprayed. However, higher concentrations of
salicylic acid had an inhibitory effect. Khodary (2004) observed a significant increase in growth characteristic,
pigment contents and photosynthetic rate in maize, sprayed with salicylic acid. Eraslan et al. (2007) also reported
that exogenous application of salicylic acid, enhanced growth, physiological process and antioxidant activity of
carrot plants grown under salinity stress.
Flowering is another important parameter that is directly related to yield and productivity of plants. Salicylic acid
has been reported to induce flowering in a number of plants. Different plant species including ornamental plant
Sinningia speciosa flowered much earlier as compared to the untreated control, when they received an exogenous
foliar spray of salicylic acid (Martin-Max et al., 2005) In cucumber and tomato, the fruit yield enhanced significantly
when the plants were sprayed with lower concentrations of salicylic acid (Larque-Saavedra and Martin-Mex 2007).
It was reported that the foliar application of salicylic acid to soybean also enhanced the flowering and pod formation
(Kumar et al., 1999).
Intl J Agri Crop Sci. Vol., 4 (16), 1184-1187, 2012

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is a member of the Solanaceae family. It is considered a major vegetable
crop in many parts of the world including Iran. Tomato is a rich source of lycopene and vitamins. Lycopene may
help counteract the harmful effects of substances called free radicals which are thought to contribute to number of
types of cancer.
In recent years, some studies have indicated that salicylic acid can enhance the plant growth, yield and quality
(Khodary, 2004). Therefore, this study was conducted to determine if application of tomato seedlings with salicylic
acid improve yield and quality of tomato fruits.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
An experiment was carried out based on randomized complete blocks design with four replications at
research farm of Shirvan Agricultural faculty in 2011 to investigate the effect of salicylic acid concentrations on yield
quantity and quality of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) plants. A nursery was prepared in greenhouse condition
and tomato seeds (var. Mobil) were sown in early March to raise seedlings for transplanting. Seedlings were
transplanted to the field in early May. Considering fertilizer requirement and results of soil analysis, 250 kg ha-1
urea and 150 kg ha-1 triple super phosphate were used. Urea fertilizer was used at three stages. Fifty kg of urea
was used at transplanting time, 100 kg at six-leaf stage and 100 kg at early reproductive stage. The distance
between the plants in the rows was 40 cm and distance between rows was 150 cm. Five different salicylic acid
concentrations including 0 M (distilled water as control), 10-2 M, 10-4 M, 10-6 M and 10-8 M were used. Different
salicylic acid concentrations prepared with distilled water. The pH of all solutions was set to 6.5-7. Two weeks after
transplanting, tomato seedlings were sprayed with different salicylic acid concentrations by two week interval for
five times.
Fruit soluble solids (Brix index) were determined by refractometer methods using a digital refractometer
(model 060279, Belgium) (A.O.A.C, 1970). Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) was determined by titrimetric method using 2,
6- dichloroindophenol (A.O.A.C. 1970). Lycopene content in fruit was estimated as described by Sadasivan and
Manikam (1992). Fruit firmness was measured by penetrometer (0) and diameter of fruit skin was measured by a
digital calipers.
The data for all characters were analysed using the analysis of variance procedure of Statistical Analysis
System (SAS) software, version 6.12. Means were compared by Duncan’s multiple range tests at the 0.01
probability level for all comparisons.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Analysis of variance showed that foliar application of salicylic acid significantly (P < 0/01) affected tomato yield
and quality characters of tomato fruits (Table 1). Tomato seedlings treated with salicylic acid 10-6 M had
significantly higher yield (3059.5 g per bush) compared to untreated control (2222 g per bush). However, there was
no significant difference among salicylic acid 10-2 M, 10-8 M and control (Table 2). This increasing of yield closely
linked to increase the number of bunch per bush (Table 2). These results are supported by those of Kumar et al.
(1999) who found that foliar application of salicylic acid to soybean enhanced the flowering, pod formation and
consequently yield of soybean. It was reported that salicylic acid application promotes cell division and cell
enlargement (Hayat et al., 2005). Foliar application of salicylic acid increased the leaf area of sugarcane (Zhou et
al., 1999). According to Shakirova et al. (2003) the positive effect of salicylic acid on growth and yield can be due to
its influence on other plant hormones. Salicylic acid altered the auxin, cytokinin and ABA balances in wheat and
increased the growth and yield under both normal and saline conditions. Increasing of yield under foliar application
of salicylic acid could be ascribed to the well-known roles of salicylic acid on photosynthetic parameters and plant
water relations. Fariduddin et al. (2003) reported that exogenous application of salicylic acid enhanced the net
photosynthetic rate, internal CO2 concentration and water use efficiency in Brassica juncea. Application of salicylic
acid increased the fruit lycopene content so that tomato transplants treated with salicylic acid 10-2 M had
significantly higher lycopene content (6.4 mg per 100 g fruit fresh weight) compared to untreated control (4.23.mg
per 100 g fruit fresh weight). However, there were no significant differences among different salicylic acid
concentrations (Table 2). Moharekar et al. (2003) reported that salicylic acid activated the synthesis of carotenoids
and xanthophylls. Masroor et al. (2006) also reported that foliar application of gibberelic acid significantly increased
lycopene content of tomato fruits. The highest fruit vitamin C was obtained in tomato plants treated with salicylic
acid 10-2 M (32.5 mg per 100 g fruit fresh weight) compared to control plants (24 mg per 100 g fruit fresh weight).
Intl J Agri Crop Sci. Vol., 4 (16), 1184-1187, 2012

Similar observations were also made in tomato plants raised from the seeds soaked in salicylic acid and was
presumed to be due to the enhanced activation of some enzymes such as ascorbate peroxidase.
Table 1. Analysis of variance for quantity and quality characters of tomato plants under salicylic acid treatments
S.O.V df Yield
per bush
Number of
bunch per
bush
Rate of
pressure
tolerance
Diameter
of fruit skin Licopene Vitamin
C
Brix
index
Replication 3 0.18
ns
14.73
ns
0.20ns 0.009ns 0.42ns 29.23ns 0.12ns
Treatment 4 1.37
*
132.80
**
1.12
**
0.04
**
3.51
ns
48.00
ns
7.36
**
Error 12 0.30 6.23 0.16 0.006 1.38 15.53 0.14
CV% 20.19 10.99 19.24 19.47 20.91 13.96 5.40
*, ** significantly at the 5% and 1% levels of probability respectively and ns (non significant)
Table 2. Mean comparison of the effects of salicylic acid on yield and quality characters on tomato
Treatment
Yield per
bush
(g)
Number of
bunch per bush
Lycopene
mg/100g
Diameter of
fruit skin
(mm)
Vitamin C
mg/100g
Brix index
Rate of pressure
tolerance
kg/cm
10
-
2
2360.8b 2.57c 6.36a 0.54a 32.51a 6.96b 2.82a
10
-
4
2965.8a 4.65c 6.34a 0.45ab 31a 9.3a 2.07b
10
-
6
3059.5a 5.37c 5.06b 0.45ab 26.83ab 6.52bc 2.35ab
10
-
8
2467.8b 8.25b 4.23b 0.38b 26.71ab 6.2cd 2bc
Control 2220.5c 11.64a 4.04b 0.26c 24.01b 5.9d 1.37c
Mean fallowed by similar letters in each column, are not significantly at the 5% level of probability
Exogenous application of salicylic acid increased the amount of fruit soluble solids materials (Brix index).
Plants treated with salicylic acid had significantly higher Brix index compared to non-treated plants (control).
Tomato plants treated with salicylic acid concentration 10-4 M had significantly the highest (9.2) Brix index (Table
2). This can be attributed to the role of salicylic acid to improve membrane permeability, absorption and utilization
of mineral nutrients. Some researches indicated that salicylic acid increased membrane permeability would
facilitate absorption and utilization of mineral nutrients and transport of assimilates. This would also contribute
towards enhancing the capacity of the treated plants for biomass production as is reflected in the observed
increase in fresh and dry weight of plants (Ansari, 1996). Chandra et al. (2007) reported that application of salicylic
acid increased total soluble sugar and soluble protein of cowpea plants.
CONCLUSION
Salicylic acid is considered to be a potent plant hormone because of its diverse regulatory roles in plant
metabolism. It is well-established fact that salicylic acid potentially generates a wide array of metabolic responses
in plants and also affects the photosynthetic parameters which enhance plant growth and yield. It may, therefore be
concluded that the sustained increase in the observed parameters expectedly culminated in maximization of the
process of biomass accumulation leading to higher productivity, lycopene, vitamin C content of tomato fruit and as
well as fruit Brix index.
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  • Mar 2010
  • ENVIRON EXP BOT
Salicylic acid (SA), an endogenous plant growth regulator has been found to generate a wide range of metabolic and physiological responses in plants thereby affecting their growth and development. In the present review, we have focused on various intrinsic biosynthetic pathways, interplay of SA and MeSA, its long distance transport and signaling. The effect of exogenous application of SA on bio-productivity, growth, photosynthesis, plant water relations, various enzyme activities and its effect on the plants exposed to various biotic and abiotic stresses has also been discussed.
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Impact of exogenous salicylic acid on the growth, antioxidant activity and physiology of carrot plants subjected to combined salinity and boron toxicity
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2007
  • SCI HORTIC-AMSTERDAM
Previous studies have shown that salicylic acid (SA) plays a role in the response of plants to salt and osmotic stresses. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of exogenous salicylic acid on the growth, physiology and antioxidant activity of carrot (Daucus carota L. cv. Nantes) grown under combined stress of salinity and boron toxicity. The treatments consisted of salt (control, NaCl, and Na2SO4), boron (−B: 0 and +B: 25 mg B kg−1) and salicylic acid (−SA: 0 and +SA: 0.5 mmol SA kg−1). The diameter of the storage root was increased by NaCl salinity in the absence of B toxicity, however, it was increased by Na2SO4 salinity under B toxicity. For the storage root yield, NaCl salinity was more toxic than Na2SO4 salinity. With its role in plant growth regulation, SA application positively affected the storage root dry weight, S concentration, carotenoids and anthocyanin content and increased the total antioxidant activity (AA) of the shoot and storage root. SA application regulated proline and toxic ion (B, Cl) accumulation in the storage root and shoot. This study reports the long term effects of SA under stress conditions and reveals that SA was not as effective as in alleviating abiotic stress as reported in the literature conducted with short-term studies. That means long-term effects of SA would be significantly different from its short-term effects.
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Effect of salicylic acid on growth and enzyme activities of wheat seedlings
Article
  • Dec 2005
Grains of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Raj-3077) were soaked in 0, 10-5, 10-4 or 10-3 M aqueous solutions of salicylic acid (SA) for 3, 6 or 9 h. The seedlings raised from grains pre-treated with 10-5 M SA possessed significantly higher leaf number, fresh and dry mass per plant, and nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase activities 30 and 40 days after sowing. However, 10-3 M SA reduced all the above-mentioned parameters.
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Effect of Salicylic Acid on the Growth Photosynthesis and Carbohydrate Metabolism in Salt Stressed Maize Plants
Article
  • Jan 1560
The effect of 10 -2 M salicylic acid (SA) on the counteracting of the NaCl (50, 100 and 150 mM)-induced deleterious effects on maize (Zea mays L.) cultivar was studied. Effects of SA on salt tolerance of maize were determined by measuring the growth parameters: shoot and root lengths, shoot and root fresh and dry weights and leaf area. The activity of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco), photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls a, b and carotenoids) content, the rate of 14 CO 2 -fixation and sugars level were investigated in response to the interactive effects of SA and NaCl treatment. NaCl significantly reduced all growth parameters measured, Rubisco activity, photosynthetic efficiency and pigments, as well as sugar contents. The effects of NaCl on the previous parameters were increased with NaCl concentrations. Exogenous application (foliar spray) of SA counteracted the NaCl deleterious effects on maize cultivar. SA enhanced the maize salt tolerance in terms of improving the measured plant growth criteria. SA appears to stimulate maize salt tolerance by activating the photosynthetic process.
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Role of Hormonal System in the Manifestation of Growth Promoting and Antistress Action of Salicylic Acid
Chapter
  • Jun 2007
Salicylic acid (SA) is an endogenous plant growth regulator. When applied to wheat plants in concentration similar to that used in case of exogenous hormones (0.05 mM), SA causes growth promoting and protective effects against an abiotic stresses. SA was shown to cause changes in hormonal system associated with transitory parallel accumulation of IAA and ABA with no change in cytokinins, which took place in case of treatment of seeds before sowing as well as seedling treatment. SA-induced accumulation of ABA lead to no detrimental effects, evidenced by clearcut stimulation of growth of root cells both by division and expansion, accumulation of raw and dry mass of seedlings and productivity of wheat treated with SA. This indicated an important role to IAA in the expression of growth stimulating action of SA. ABA is likely to be intermediator in manifestation of antistress action of SA. This is evidenced by the data showing that SA-induced accumulation of ABA was followed by enhanced expression of genes of dehydrins and accumulation of proline, i.e. substances having a relation with osmoprotection of cells. Moreover, SA causes activation of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase, including anionic peroxidase, phenylalanin-ammonia-lyase, favouring accelerated lignification of cell walls of seedlings roots. This is likely to contribute to a decline in the extent of injurious effects of salinity and water deficit on plants, pretreated with SA, evidenced by a decline in the level of lipid peroxidation and leakage of electrolytes from plant tissues as well as by more intensive growth processes as compared to control plants. It is important to underline that pretreatment with SA prevents a sharp decline in IAA and cytokinin content observed under stress and maintains a high level of ABA. Such a character of SA effect on the state of hormonal system may well contribute to protective reactions of plants and acceleration of reparative processes during a post-stress period.
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Salicylic Acid Influences Net Photosynthetic Rate, Carboxylation Efficiency, Nitrate Reductase Activity, and Seed Yield in Brassica juncea
Article
  • Jun 2003
Aqueous solutions of salicylic acid (SA) were applied to the foliage of 30-d-old plants of mustard (Brassica juncea Czern & Coss cv. Varuna). The plants sprayed with the lowest used concentration (10−5 M) of SA were healthier than those sprayed with water only or with higher concentrations of SA (10−4 or 10−3 M). 60-d-old plants possessed 8.4, 9.8, 9.3, 13.0 and 18.5 % larger dry mass, net photosynthetic rate, carboxylation efficiency, and activities of nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase over the control, respectively. Moreover, the number of pods and the seed yield increased by 13.7 and 8.4 % over the control.
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Effects of Salicylic Acid on the Bioproductivity of Plants
Chapter
  • Jun 2007
Salicylic acid is a plant growth regulator that increases plant bioproductivity. Experiments carried out with ornamental or horticultural plants in greenhouse conditions or in the open have clearly demonstrated that they respond to this compound. Moreover, lower quantities of SA are needed to establish positive responses in the plants. The effect on ornamental plants is expressed as the increase in plant size, the number of flowers, leaf area and the early appearance of flowers. In horticultural species, the effect reported is the increase of yield without affecting the quality of the fruits. It is proposed that the increase in bioproductivity is mainly due to the positive effect of SA on root length and its density.
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Positive effect of salicylates on the flowering of African violet
Article
  • Feb 2005
  • SCI HORTIC-AMSTERDAM
Aqueous solutions of 1.0 μM to 0.1 nM concentrations of salicylic acid (SA) were sprayed on African violet grown under greenhouse conditions to estimate its effect on the flower expression of the plant. These solutions were sprayed on the shoots of the plant on three occasions, 21, 28 and 35 days after being potted. Salicyliclate at 0.1 nM increased the number of leaves from 16 to 19, the number of flower primordia from 8 to 14, the rosette diameter from 130 to 177 mm in comparison with the control. The same concentration induce flowering at 74 days of plant age whilest the control plants last 89 days to flower.
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