Heat stress mitigation in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) through foliar application of gibberellic acid.

ABSTRACT

Phytohormones mediate physiological, morphological, and enzymatic responses and are important regulators of plant growth and development at different stages. Even though temperature is one of the most important abiotic stressors for plant development and production, a spike in the temperature may have disastrous repercussions for crop performance. Physiology and growth of two tomato genotypes ('Ahmar' and 'Roma') were studied in two growth chambers (25 and 45 °C) when gibberellic acid (GA3) was applied exogenously. After the 45 days of planting, tomato plants were sprayed with GA3 at concentrations of 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg L-1, whereas untreated plants were kept as control. Under both temperature conditions, shoot and root biomass was greatest in 'Roma' plants receiving 75 mg L-1 GA3, followed by 50 mg L-1 GA3. Maximum CO2 index, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and greenness index were recorded in 'Roma' plants cultivated at 25 °C, demonstrating good effects of GA3 on tomato physiology. Likewise, GA3 enhanced the proline, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels in the leaves of both genotypes at both temperatures. Foliar-sprayed GA3 up to 100 mg L-1 alleviated the oxidative stress, as inferred from the lower concentrations of MDA and H2O2, and boosted the activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase. The difference between control and GA3-treated heat-stressed plants suggests that GA3 may have a function in mitigating heat stress. Overall, our findings indicate that 75 mg L-1 of GA3 is the optimal dosage to reduce heat stress in tomatoes and improve their morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics.