Sains Malaysiana 51(5)(2022): 1317-1324

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2022-5105-04

Growth and Anatomical Adaptations in Response to Salinity Stress in Cucurbita moschata Duchesne ‘Butternut’ (Cucurbitaceae)

(Adaptasi Pertumbuhan dan Anatomi Cucurbita moschata Duchesne ‘Butternut’ (Cucurbitaceae) dalam Gerak Balas terhadap Tekanan Kemasinan)

WORASITIKULYA TARATIMA^1,*, SUNUNTA SUDJAI¹ & PITAKPONG MANEERATTANARUNGROJ²

¹Salt Tolerance Rice Research Group, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science,
   Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand

²Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand

Received: 19 February 2021/ Accepted: 14 October 2021

Abstract

Pumpkin or squash is an economically important crop that is moderately sensitive to salinity but how its growth is affected by soil salinity is poorly understood. Salinity stress on physiological and anatomical traits of Cucurbita moschata ‘Butternut’ was investigated under hydroponic culture using Hoagland’s solution with various NaCl concentrations (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, and 150 mM) for four weeks. The results showed that pumpkin growth characters decreased after cultured in various NaCl concentrations. Leaf number, leaf width, leaf length, root number, stem height, stem diameter, green intensity in terms of SPAD units, chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv’/Fm’, Fv/Fm), total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b contents significantly (p < 0.05) decreased after culture in various NaCl concentrations. Salinity stress impacted fiber layer thickness, vascular bundle size and vessel diameter of treated plants but did not affect cuticle thickness. Physiological and anatomical traits significantly correlated with salinity gradients, except for chlorophyll b and chlorophyll fluorescence, in both light and dark condition. Results provide significant data to improve the understanding of adaptation mechanisms of tolerant pumpkin cultivars under salinity stress condition.

Keywords: Chlorophyll content; free-hand sectioning; pumpkin; salinity; stem anatomy

Abstrak

Labu adalah tanaman yang penting daripada segi ekonomi serta agak sensitif terhadap kemasinan tetapi bagaimana pertumbuhannya dipengaruhi oleh kemasinan tanah masih kurang difahami. Tekanan kemasinan pada ciri fisiologi dan anatomi Cucurbita moschata ‘Butternut’ dikaji dalam kultur hidroponik menggunakan larutan Hoagland dengan pelbagai kepekatan NaCl (0, 25, 50, 75, 100 dan 150 mM) selama empat minggu. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa pertumbuhan labu menurun setelah dikultur dalam pelbagai kepekatan NaCl. Bilangan daun, lebar daun, panjang daun, nombor akar, ketinggian batang, diameter batang, keamatan hijau daun dari segi unit SPAD, pendarfluor klorofil (Fv'/Fm', Fv/Fm), jumlah klorofil, klorofil a dan kandungan klorofil b menurun dengan ketara (p<0.05) selepas dikulturkan dalam pelbagai kepekatan NaCl. Tekanan kemasinan mempengaruhi ketebalan lapisan serat, saiz berkas vaskular dan diameter salur tanaman yang dirawat tetapi tidak mempengaruhi ketebalan kutikul. Ciri fisiologi dan anatomi berkorelasi dengan kepekatan kemasinan, kecuali klorofil b dan pendarfluor klorofil, dalam keadaan cahaya dan gelap. Keputusan memberikan data yang signifikan untuk meningkatkan pemahaman mekanisme penyesuaian kultivar labu yang toleran terhadap keadaan tekanan kemasinan.

Kata kunci: Anatomi batang; kandungan klorofil; kemasinan; labu; pembahagian bebas tangan

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^*Corresponding author; email: worasitikulya@gmail.com