The Effect of Melatonine Applications on Some Morphological Charaters of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Seeds with and without Chilling Stress

Abstract

In the research using Beith F1 cucumber variety; In the research; The effects of chill and foliar applied melatonin on some morphological characteristics of seedlings were aimed to be investigated. Seedlings with 3-4 true leaves were chilled. For seedlings applied to the cold, distilled water containing 0, 1, 10, 20, 30 and 40 μM melatonin was sprayed onto the leaves of the plants. One full day after melatonin application, half of the plants were exposed to cold stress in the climate cabinet for 15 days, and the other half were kept in the climate room under normal conditions (25/20 °C light / dark). Samples were taken after the plants exposed to cold stress were kept in the incubator for 15 days at 5 ± 1 °C dark (for 12 hours) and 10 ± 1 °C light (for 12 hours). Some basic growth parameters of plants were measured and some biochemical analyzes were done. When the plant growth parameters were evaluated, it was determined that 30 and 40 µM melatonin treated plants limited the plant growth. In addition, plants with no melatonin applied had the highest scale value, whereas melatonin applications from the leaf were observed to be effective in reducing visual damage, and the least visual damage was observed in the application of 40 µM melatonin. As a result, it is thought that melatonin applications may be a physiologically effective adjuvant that can have a positive effect in reducing harmful effects caused by chilling stress.