Effect of Salicylic Acid on Growth and Chilling Tolerance of Cucumber Seedlings

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of low temperature and salicylic acid(SA) on the chilling tolerance of acclimated and nonacclimated cucumber(Cucurmis sativus L.) seedlings. The acclimation phenomenon was characterized in chilling-sensitive cucumber seedlings and found to have a significant effect on the survival and shoot dry weights. The injuries experienced by the acclimated seedlings in the third leaf stage were on average smaller by half than those experienced by the nonacclimated seedlings. Chilling also caused a large increase in the free proline levels, regardless of the acclimation status. Exogenous treatment with SA(0.5mM) resulted in improved growth and survival of the nonacclimated chilled seedlings, indicating that SA induced chilling tolerance and SA and acclimation had common effects. The application of cycloheximide in the presence of SA restored the acclimation-induced chilling tolerance. The elevated proline level observed in the cold-treated and SA-treated plants was more pronounced in the light than in the dark at a chilled temperature, indicating that endogenous proline may play a role in chilling tolerance by stabilizing the water status in response to chilling. From these results it is suggested that SA provided protection against low-temperature stress by increasing the proline accumulation, and pre-treatment with SA may induce antioxidant enzymes leading to increased chilling tolerance.