Abstract. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of exogenous selenium (5 or 10 µmol·dm^-3) on the growth, content of photosynthetic pigments and proline, as well as lipid peroxidation of 50 mmol·dm^-3 NaCl-stressed cucumber seedlings. The obtained results suggest that appropriate concentration of selenium functions positively to promote the antioxidative and osmoregulatory capacity, and enhance the salt-resistance in cucumber seedlings.

Physiological reaction of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
to salt stress in the presence of selenium

Summary

Soil salinity, one of the major abiotic stresses reducing agricultural productivity, affects large terrestrial areas of the world. The need to improve salt tolerance of crops is evident. In the present work, the effect of exogenous selenium on cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L. ‘Polan F₁’) grown in the salt stress conditions (50 mmol NaCl·dm^-3), has been investigated. Plant growth was affected by excessive salinity and dry mass accumulation decreased. However, selenium treatment significantly enhanced tolerance against high salinity. Selenium tended to stimulate the growth, increase concentration of photosynthetic pigments, as well as the accumulation of proline. Moreover, it is concluded that selenium, improves the salt-tolerance of cucumber seedlings by protecting the cell membrane against stress-damage by lipid peroxidation.