The Effect of Foliar Spraying of Ascorbic Acid and Glycine Betaine on some Morpho-physiological and Biochemical Characteristics of Carola (Momordica charantia L.) under Salt Stress

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Zabol University, Faculty of Agriculture, Zabol, Iran

2 Department of Agriculture, Technical and Engineering Faculty, Velayat University, Iranshahr, I. R. Iran

Abstract

In arid and semi-arid locations like Iran, salinity is increasingly viewed as a severe hazard to agriculture. This study examined the effects of foliar spraying Carola plants with different doses of ascorbic acid and glycine betaine under varying watering circumstances. So, at the Research Farm of Velayat University of Iranshahr, an experiment was carried out in a split-plot factorial design with a randomized complete block structure with three replications. The experiment was run across two crop years (2020–2021 and 2021–2022). Applying ascorbic acid (2 mM) improved fruit length and diameter, fruit dry weight, fruit number, and yield, but salt stress decreased all of these characteristics. Photosynthetic pigments and relative water content (RWC) in leaves were both diminished by salt stress. Adding 2 mM ascorbic acid and 100 mM glycine betaine enhanced these characteristics. The phenolic compounds, momordicin, charantin, and proline were all upregulated by salt stress. Furthermore, by enhancing proline activity and RWC, the addition of ascorbic acid (2 mM) and glycine betaine (100 mM) to Carola plants made them more resistant to salt stress. In plants subjected to salt stress, the most abundant secondary metabolite momordicin was found in those treated with ascorbic acid and glycine betaine. These results showed that ascorbic acid and glycine betaine can be used to increase pigments and secondary metabolites in Carola plants under salt stress conditions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Medicinal plants and By-products
Volume 15, Issue 2
January and February 2026
Pages 243-248

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