Journal of Plant Process and Function

Myrtle ) Myrtus communis L.) is a diploid plant belongs to the family of Myrtaceae and is considered as one of the important medicinal and ornamental plant. The present was performed to investigate the effect of salinity stress on morphological and physiological traits in myrtle. This study was conducted in an experiment of  split plot in time according to a randomized complete block design with four replicates and four salinity levels including  control and 2, 4 and 6 dS and  three harvest times (early spring, early summer and early fall). According to the results of morphological characteristics, during all three periods, vegetative growth except secondary branches and flowering time was reduced under salinity stress. The highest leaf length mean was observed in control treatment in summer (1.69 cm) and the lowest leaf length was obtained in high salinity in fall season (1.28 cm). Chlorophyll and leaf relative water content (RWC) was decreased and proline and carotenoids (at the time of spring and summer) increased under salinity stress treatments. For proline, in the first, second and third harvest times 27.96%, 40.98% and 51.74% elevation was observed in proline content at 6dS m⁻¹ as compared to the control treatment, respectively. The highest carotenoids content were observed in summer (6.74 mg/g) and the lowest ones were obtained in fall (2.50 mg/g). Finally, in order to achieve the highest yield, spring and summer harvest time and 4 dS m⁻¹ stress condition are introduced as the best conditions for myrtle growth.