foliar potassium nitrate spray induces changes in potassium- sodium balance and biochemical mechanisms in olive (olea europaea l. cv chemlali) plants submitted to salt stress

Purpose: nowadays with the precipitation scarcity induced byclimate change, the use of non-conventional water resources inirrigation is needed such as saline water. the irrigation of salttolerance species like olive could be adopted with potassium foliarspray. in this work we present how olive plants modulate sodiumpotassium balance and metabolism to mitigate salt stress. researchmethod: a pot experiment was conducted to assess how potassiumnitrate modify na/k ratio and biochemical compounds in oliveplants. one-year-old olive plants (cv chemlali) irrigated with a salinewater (10g/l) were subjected to three treatments: k0, k1 and k2 (0,1 and 2% of potassium nitrate foliar spray, respectively). findings:results showed differences between treatments. the mineralcomposition particularly the sodium and potassium content ofleaves and roots revealed that the k1 and k2 treatments slightlyincreased k/na in leaves and decreased in roots. moreover, the saltstress was moderate through the osmotic adjustment. theaccumulation of osmolytes (proline and soluble sugars) decreasedby k1 and k2 treatments. secondry metabolites (phenols) showedan increase by k1 and k2. lipid peroxydation was also reduced bytreatments especially in young leaves and then increased. inconclusion, potassium can be recommended in order to mitigate theharmful effects of salinity. research limitations: no limitations werefounded. originality/value: in the condition of current waterscarcity the saline water could be used with potassium application.