ABSTRACT Salinity is one of the main challenges in agriculture, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Salicylic acid application may be a strategy to mitigate the harmful effects of salt stress on plant growth. Basil (Ocimum basilicum ) is a medicinal, spice, and ornamental plant grown around the world that has its growth reduced by salt stress. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate salicylic acid in mitigating the damage caused by salt stress in ‘Cinnamon’ basil. Growth was evaluated at 90 days after the start of irrigation with saline water. Salicylic acid application attenuates the harmful effects of salt stress on the number of leaves, number of inflorescences, leaf dry mass, inflorescence dry mass, root dry mass, seed mass, leaf area, leaf area ratio, specific leaf area, leaf mass ratio, root mass ratio, inflorescence mass ratio, Dickson quality index, sclerophilia index, robustness quotient and shoot root ratio. Salt stress decreased plant height, stem diameter, stem dry mass, and stem mass ratio of basil ‘Cinnamon’. Salicylic acid can be used to lessen the harmful effects of salt stress on basil ‘Cinnamon’.

ABSTRACT Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) is an ornamental and medicinal plant that has edible flowers. Drought and salt stress decrease flower production and quality, including affecting sugar metabolism and ethylene production. Ethylene can accelerate the nasturtium senescence process, decreasing its postharvest quality. The use of polyamines, mainly spermine, may be a strategy for reducing the harmful effects of these stresses on the metabolism of sugars and phenolic compounds and for decreasing the production of ethylene, which accelerates senescence, in nasturtium flowers. Therefore, the objective here was to evaluate the role of spermine application on sugar and phenolic compounds and on ethylene production in nasturtium flowers grown under drought and salt stress. Two experiments were performed in isolation and at the same time in order to achieve this. Spermine down-regulated ethylene production and up-regulated the content of sugars and phenolic compounds on nasturtium flowers grown under drought and saline stress. Sugars and phenolic compounds down-regulated ethylene production in nasturtium flowers. Spermine can be used to mitigate the harmful effects of drought and salt stress on nasturtium flowers by increasing sugar and phenolic compounds and decreasing ethylene production. Tropaeolum majus quality process polyamines Therefore this downregulated down regulated upregulated up

ABSTRACT Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) is a cut flower grown due to the wide diversity of colors and longevity in the post-harvest. The leaf area measurement is fundamental in plants because the leaves are directly related to several processes such as transpiration, radiation interception and CO2 fixation that enable the plant to grow. The objective of the work was to determine an allometric equation for estimating the leaf area of lisianthus from linear dimensions. 200 leaves were collected and the leaf length (L), leaf width (W), product between length and width (LW) and real leaf area (LA) were measured. The criteria for determining the best model were the highest determination coefficient (R2), Willmott's concordance index (d), lowest Akaike information criterion (AIC), root mean square error (RMSE) and BIAS index closest to zero. The most suitable model for estimating the leaf area of lisianthus is the linear ŷ = 1.387*LW.

RESUMO Os estresses abióticos são uma das principais razões para a baixa produtividade das culturas devido aos distúrbios causados por eles. As poliaminas podem ser aplicadas para mitigar os efeitos nocivos do estresse nas plantas. A capuchinha (Tropaeolum majus L.) é uma planta ornamental, medicinal e comestível encontrada em muitos países. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da aplicação de poliaminas e estresse salino no crescimento e nas trocas gasosas foliares de T. majus. Os tratamentos para induzir o estresse salino foram os seguintes: 0 mM NaCl (sem estresse), 40 mM NaCl (estresse moderado), 80 mM NaCl (estresse severo), 40 mM NaCl + espermina (Spm), 40 mM NaCl + espermidina (Spd), NaCl 40 mM + putrescina (Put), NaCl 80 mM + Spm, NaCl 80 mM + Spd e NaCl 80 mM + Put. As poliaminas foram aplicadas semanalmente durante quatro semanas. As aplicações de Spd e Spm atenuaram os efeitos nocivos do estresse salino moderado na altura de plantas e na massa fresca das folhas. A aplicação de Spm atenuou os efeitos nocivos do estresse salino moderado no diâmetro do caule. A aplicação de Spd atenuou os efeitos nocivos do estresse salino moderado sobre o número de botões, massa fresca do caule e massa fresca total. A aplicação de Spm atenuou os efeitos nocivos do estresse salino severo na condutância estomática e na taxa de transpiração e atenuou os efeitos nocivos do estresse salino moderado na condutância estomática, fotossíntese líquida e taxa de transpiração. A aplicação de Spd atenuou os efeitos nocivos do estresse salino moderado na eficiência instantânea do uso da água e na eficiência intrínseca do uso da água. As aplicações de Spm e Spd podem atenuar os efeitos nocivos do estresse salino moderado no crescimento e nas trocas gasosas foliares de capuchinha.

ABSTRACT Abiotic stresses are one of the major reasons for low crop productivity owing to the disturbances caused by them. Polyamines can be applied to mitigate the harmful effects of stress in plants. Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.) is an ornamental, medicinal, and edible plant that is found in many countries. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of polyamines application and salt stress on the growth and leaf gas exchange of T. majus. The treatments to induce salt stress were as follows: 0 mM NaCl (no stress), 40 mM NaCl (moderate stress), 80 mM NaCl (severe stress), 40 mM NaCl + spermine (Spm), 40 mM NaCl + spermidine (Spd), 40 mM NaCl + putrescine (Put), 80 mM NaCl + Spm, 80 mM NaCl + Spd, and 80 mM NaCl + Put. Polyamines were applied every week for four weeks. The applications of Spd and Spm attenuated the harmful effects of moderate salt stress on plant height and leaf fresh mass. The application of Spm attenuated the harmful effects of moderate salt stress on stem diameter. The application of Spd attenuated the harmful effects of moderate salt stress on the number of buds, the stem fresh mass, and total fresh mass. The application of Spm attenuated the harmful effects of severe salt stress on stomatal conductance and transpiration rate and attenuated the harmful effects of moderate salt stress on stomatal conductance, net photosynthesis, and transpiration. The application of Spd attenuated the harmful effects of moderate salt stress on instantaneous water use efficiency and intrinsic water use efficiency. The applications of Spm and Spd application can attenuated the harmful effects of moderate salt stress on the growth and leaf gas exchange of nasturtium.