Melafen Alleviates the Harmful Effect of Salt Stress on Calendula Plants and Accelerates Their Recovery

Abstract

It has been shown for the first time that 10^–9 M melafen boosted the plant tolerance of the marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) to salt stress and accelerated plant recovery occurring after removal of the excess salt from the growing medium. During both salt stress and its recovery, melafen attenuated the inhibitory effect of salt on biomass accumulation and the leaf assimilating area, stabilized the water status, and lowered the concentrations of malondialdehyde and stress-induced proline but did not affect the contents of the main photosynthetic pigments.