Determination of the Effect of Boron Applications on Salt Damage in Sunflower

Abstract

Salinity is a serious agricultural problem restricting the cultivation of plants in the world and in Turkey, especially seen in arid and semi-arid regions, which limits crop yields and causing large areas remain non-agriculture. Boron (B) deficiency which arises in crop production in different parts of the world has also been shown to be an important nutritional problem in our country. It has been reported in studies carried out in recent years that damage caused by salt stress increased under B deficiency. Sunflower which is one of the Turkey's most important edible oil crops is known to be one of the most sensitive plants to B deficiency. In this study, two sunflower genotypes were tested in order to determine the effect of application B on reducing the effect of salt damage on sunflower under B application in saline and salt-free conditions in hydroponic culture. Dry matter yield of root and shoot of the plants, B concentration and K/Na and Ca/Na ratios were determined in the experiment. According to the results obtained from the experiment, it was seen that the salt addition decreased the dry matter yield of the control, whereas the B applications increased the yield compared to the control application. It has been understood that there is no significant role of B in alleviating of the salt damage and determined that B uptake level of the plant is increased in saline conditions. In addition to these results, differences in sunflower genotypes were observed in resistance to B deficiency and salt toxicity.