Open Access

ARTICLE

Ascorbic Acid Alleviates Salt Stress on the Physiology and Growth of Guava Seedlings

Jackson Silva Nóbrega^1,*, Geovani Soares de Lima¹, Jean Telvio Andrade Ferreira², Julio Cesar Agostinho da Silva¹, Lauriane Almeida dos Anjos Soares¹, Valéria Fernandes de Oliveira Sousa¹, Paulo Vinicius de Oliveira Freire¹, Reynaldo Teodoro de Fátima¹, Flávia de Sousa Almeida¹, Hans Raj Gheyi², Josemir Moura Maia³

1 Center of Agrifood Science and Technology, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Pombal, 58840 000, PB, Brazil
2 Center of Technology and Natural Resources, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Campina Grande, 58429 900, PB, Brazil
3 Center of Human and Agricultural Sciences, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Catolé do Rocha, 58884 000, PB, Brazil

* Corresponding Author: Jackson Silva Nóbrega. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants: Physio-biochemical and Molecular Mechanisms)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(5), 1587-1600. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.063633

Received 20 January 2025; Accepted 21 April 2025; Issue published 29 May 2025

Abstract

The Northeast region is the main producer of guava in Brazil, generating employment and income. However, water availability means that producer’s resort to using water with high salinity, which harms plant development, especially during the seedling formation phase. The adoption of techniques that mitigate the deleterious effect of salinity is increasingly necessary, such as the use of elicitors such as ascorbic acid. The purpose of this study was to analyze the morphophysiology of guava seedlings under saline and ascorbic acid levels. The study was carried out by applying treatments composed of five saline levels (SL = 0.3; 1.3; 2.3; 3.3 and 4.3 dS m⁻¹) and four levels of ascorbic acid—AA (0, 200, 400, and 600 mg L⁻¹), in a 5 × 4 factorial arrangement, adopting a randomized block design. Gas exchange and growth of guava seedlings are limited from 0.3 dS m⁻¹. Using 400 mg L⁻¹ of AA reduces damage from salinity on stomatal conductance, transpiration, and net assimilation rate up to the estimated SL of 1.80 dS m⁻¹. In contrast, AA level 412 mg L⁻¹ increased instantaneous water use efficiency up to the salinity of 2.3 dS m⁻¹. AA level of 600 mg L⁻¹ attenuated salt stress effects on leaf area and height/stem diameter ratio up to SL of 2.05 dS m⁻¹. The number of leaves and the absolute and relative growth rates were stimulated by AA under the lowest saline level.

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