Abstract Selection and improvement of crops subjected to salinity constitutes an urgent need for increasing agricultural and food production in order to feed the growing human population. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the role of salicylic acid (SA) application in mitigating the adverse effects of salinity on faba bean (Vicia faba L.) at the physiological and molecular levels. Fort this purpose, two faba bean genotypes were subjected to various concentrations of NaCl and salicylic acid in a full factorial design. After that, growth, water status, gas exchanges, photosynthesis parameters, ions homeostasis and antioxidant enzymes activities were evaluated. The obtained results demonstrated that salinity induced several limitations in plants growth and physiological attributes. In response, salt stressed faba bean plants improved water status and enhanced antioxidant enzymatic activities. Remarkably, salt-tolerance of both genotypes was significantly improved by salicylic acid application which allowed the maintenance of cell membrane and photosynthetic process, restoring of ion homeostasis and the diminution of oxidative damages. Overall, the difference between genotypes is rather quantitative than qualitative even if the genotype Aguadulce displayed better growth, physiological and molecular response under salt stress than the genotype Histal. Besides, the beneficial effects of salicylic acid vary according to its concentration, the tested genotype and the studied parameter; the genotype Aguadulce performs better under the treatment with 0.5 mM SA while the genotype Histal manifests greater behaviour under the treatment with 1 mM SA. Therefore, salicylic acid can be considered as potential growth regulator to improve the salt response of faba bean. The application of salicylic acid would provide a practical basis for wide cultivation of faba bean in marginal and wastelands under-cultivated and might propose an effective ecological and economical alternative solution to deal with salt-affected soils mainly in arid regions.

中文翻译：

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水杨酸改善光合作用和抗氧化反应的能力降低了蚕豆的耐盐性

摘要 受盐分作物的选择和改良构成了增加农业和粮食生产以养活不断增长的人口的迫切需要。本研究的目的是在生理和分子水平上评估水杨酸 (SA) 应用在减轻盐度对蚕豆 (Vicia faba L.) 的不利影响中的作用。为此，两种蚕豆基因型在全析因设计中接受了不同浓度的 NaCl 和水杨酸。之后，评估生长、水分状态、气体交换、光合作用参数、离子稳态和抗氧化酶活性。获得的结果表明，盐度对植物生长和生理特性造成了一些限制。作为回应，盐胁迫蚕豆植物改善了水分状况并增强了抗氧化酶活性。值得注意的是，水杨酸的应用显着改善了两种基因型的耐盐性，这可以维持细胞膜和光合作用过程，恢复离子稳态并减少氧化损伤。总的来说，即使基因型 Aguadulce 在盐胁迫下表现出比基因型 Histal 更好的生长、生理和分子反应，基因型之间的差异是定量而非定性的。此外，水杨酸的有益作用因其浓度、测试基因型和研究参数而异；基因型 Aguadulce 在 0 处理下表现更好。5 mM SA，而基因型 Histal 在 1 mM SA 处理下表现出更大的行为。因此，水杨酸可被认为是改善蚕豆盐分反应的潜在生长调节剂。水杨酸的应用将为蚕豆在边缘和荒地的广泛种植提供实用基础，并可能为解决主要在干旱地区受盐影响的土壤提出一种有效的生态和经济的替代解决方案。