Effect of Salt Stress (Potassium Chloride) on the Ecological and Physiological Characteristics of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Varieties

Abstract

Salinity, which is a significant abiotic stress factor, is among the most important factors that limit product quality and yield. In this study investigated phenological and physiological changes that occurred in three different safflower varieties that were exposed to KCl stress at concentrations of 0, 50, 100 and 150 mM. It was found that, based on increasing salt concentrations, the most significant decrease was in all phenological parameters at the concentrations of 100 and 150 mM KCl. The SOD and CAT activities showed a significant increase at high salt concentrations in the Balcı and Dinçer varieties. The APX and GR activities showed a parallelism in all safflower varieties, and they showed a significant increase based on increased concentration at the applications of 100 and 150 mM KCl. Among the three safflower varieties, the most resistant variety to salt application was Dinçer, while the most sensitive one was Remzibey. The Balcı variety was closer to the Dinçer variety in terms of its tolerance against salt stress.