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Pak. J. Bot., 45(3): 795-806, 2013.

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APPLICATION OF CARROT ROOT EXTRACT INDUCED SALINITY TOLERANCE IN COWPEA (VIGNA SINENSIS L.) SEEDLINGS

SALWA MOHAMED ABBAS^* AND SAMIA AGEEB AKLADIOUS

Abstract: Salt stress is considered as a restricting factor for plant products. Therefore, many compounds have been applied to minimize the harmful effects of salinity. Carrot roots extract is one of the natural biostimulant compounds with growth-stimulating characteristics. Moreover, it has been used as amendments in plant growth due to the presence of a number of plant growth-stimulating compounds. This study provides a review of the effect of carrot roots extract on the growth and development of plants grown under salt stress conditions with an importance on the use of this renewable bioresource in sustainable agricultural systems. The effect of presoaking of the cowpea seeds in carrot roots extracts (25 and 50 g/100 ml) and NaCl (100 mM) were examined. The results revealed that treating the seeds with sodium chloride accompanied by carrot root extracts increased growth parameters, total chlorophyll, carotenoids and total carbohydrate of the cowpea seedlings as compared to the seeds treated with sodium chloride alone. Also, antioxidant compounds content (anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, flavonoids and phenol compounds) were increased.  Furthermore, treating the seeds with carrot roots extract and salt stress lead to differential expression of the genetic information in cowpea seedlings, resulting in changes in gene products, including protein and isozymes profiles. These changes induced the synthesis of certain proteins and simultaneously decreased the expression of other protein sets. The results also demonstrated that low concentration (25 mg/ L) of carrot root extract was more effective in reducing the adverse effects of salinity through the enhancement of multiple processes.

Biological Science and Geology Department, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Roxy Cairo, Egypt

^*Corresponding author’s e-mail: salwa_morsy2001@yahoo.com