In plants, glucose (Glc) acts as a crucial signaling molecule in mediating metabolism, growth, stress tolerance mechanism, etc. However, little is known about Glc supplementation in salinity tolerance. This experiment was designed to study the ameliorative effect of Glc in mustard under salt stress. The seeds were soaked in three concentrations of NaCl (0, 50, or 100 mM) for 8 h and then treated with four concentrations of Glc (0, 2, 4, or 8%) as foliar spray for 5 days at 25-day stage. The plants were harvested at three growth stages (30, 45, and 60) for examining morpho-physiological and proteomic studies. Glc application as foliar spray increases growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidative enzyme activities in NaCl-treated plants. Glc applied in plants also showed reduction in superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and malondialdehyde content under salt stress. Amongst all doses of Glc, spray of 4% Glc proved best in alleviating the harmful effects of salinity.
Keywords: Antioxidant activity; Carbohydrate metabolism; Ion status; Photosynthetic rate; Programmed cell death; Reactive oxygen species.