USE OF SALICYLIC ACID IN LETTUCE PLANT AGAINST INCREASING METEOROLOGICAL DROUGHT

Abstract

Climate change and related meteorological drought have been one of the most important factors limiting plant production in Turkey as well as in the whole world. Producers have to develop quick solutions for sudden drought and water shortage conditions in the field. One of these solutions is the application of various chemicals that provide resistance to drought during the growing period of plants. Since the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye is a semi-arid region, mostly irrigated agriculture is carried out from early spring to the beginning of winter. Especially in dry periods, the negative effects of drought are seen rapidly in plants such as lettuce, which are sensitive to water deficiency. In order to reduce these negative effects, different salicylic acid (SA) concentrations were tried under deficient irrigation conditions in lettuce plant grown in autumn planting in Diyarbakır. For this purpose, three different irrigation water amounts and four different SA concentrations were applied. According to these applications, the lowest leaf length was obtained from the subject where SA was not applied and the lowest dose of irrigation water. The lowest leaf width was obtained from the subject where the lowest dose of irrigation water was applied. The highest whole plant dry weight was obtained from the subject treated with the least amount of water and 0.50 mM SA. The effects of irrigation water and SA on SPAD readings and the water-soluble dry matter parameter in plants were not statistically significant.