Assessment of Salicylic Acid Impacts on Physiological and Biochemical Characteristics under Water Deficit Stress on Pea (Pisum sativum L. var. Kashi Nandni)

Aims: A study was conducted to investigate the effect of salicylic acid (SA) on garden pea grown under water deficit stress condition to discover the efficacy of foliar application of SA on physiological and biochemical characteristics of garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) cv. Kashi Nandni. Study Design: With three replications, the experiment was performed in a split plot design. Place and Duration of Study: Experiment was carried out in 2019-20 at Vegetable Research Centre, JNKVV, Jabalpur (M.P.), India. Methodology: Main plots were assigned to irrigated and water deficit stress conditions, and subplots were associated to five dosages of SA (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1 mM). During flowering stage, relative water content (RWC) of leaves, light transmission ratio (LTR), energy interception (EI) were recorded and total soluble solids (TSS) was detected at the time of harvest. Results: Finding of the research revealed that water deficit stress condition reduces the growth potential of plant via effecting the physiological and biochemical process of plant. The best drought protection was observed when the plant sprayed with 0.50 mM SA in RWC, light transmission %, energy interception and TSS content of garden pea. The analysis of variance shows that the effect of salicylic acid on all characteristics was significant. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, water deficit stress causes severe physiological and biochemical malfunctions in plants, resulting in a significant reduction in plant performance. Exogenous application of SA and its derivatives against abiotic stress has the potential to be very useful in agriculture and horticulture.