The effect of drought stress and exogenous abscisic acid on growth, protein content and antioxidative enzyme activity in saffron (<i>Crocus sativus</i> L.)

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of drought and abscisic acid (ABA) on growth, protein content and antioxidative enzyme activity in leaves, roots and corms of Crocus sativus L. A comparative study of sample and control showed that leaf relative water content (RWC), length and number of leaves decreased due to drought and ABA when compared to control. Drought and ABA were effective in increasing root length in comparison to control. Though drought and ABA improved the protein content in corms, leaves and roots, maximum protein content was detected in corms. Drought and ABA increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POX) activitiy in roots, leaves and corms when compared to that of the control. The highest SOD activity was observed in the roots, followed by leaves and corms, respectively. Furthermore, highest POX activity was observed in roots.

Key words: Drought, ABA-treatment, Crocus sativus, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase.