Effect of Salicylic Acid on Physicochemical Parameters and Accumulation of Compatible Solutes in Three Genotypes of Cowpea under Arsenic Stress

in Three Abstract Cowpea is a legume widely cultivated across the world but its growth may be limited by contamination with non-essential elements among which are arsenic. The present study was designed to examine the effect of salicylic acid on physicochemical parameters and accumulation of compatible solutes in cowpea under arsenic stress. Three genotypes (Ife brown, ART98-12 and ITOK-568-18) of cowpea seeds were soaked in (0: control, 75 and 150 mg/L) of salicylic acid for 6 hours. They were air-dried and five seeds each were sown in pots of soil containing 0, 250 and 500 mg/L of sodium arsenate. Growth parameters, photosynthetic pigments and compatible solutes were determined. Data were analysed using anova at 5% level of significance. The result shows that in comparing treatment with the control, growth parameters and proline were increased by 4 and 5 folds in Ife brown; 3 and 2 folds in ART 98-12 and 2 and 5 folds in ITOK-568-18,chlorophylls a and b increased by 7.84 ± 0.04 vs. 0.43 ± 0.01 and 5.05 ± 0.03 vs. 0.20 ± 0.01 mg/g/fw in ART98-12; 11.02 ± 0.02 vs. 4.12 ± 0.01 and 7.22 ± 0.01 vs. 1.27 ± 0.02 mg/g/fw in Ife brown; 8.31 ± 0.01 vs. 4.12 ± 0.01 and 5.38 ± 0.01 vs. 1.27 ± 0.02 mg/g/fw in ITOK-568-18, soluble carbohydrate and soluble protein were reduced by 5 and 3 folds, in Ife brown and ITOK-768-18 in 250 mg/L sodium arsenate-treated soil with SA (150 mg/L) but was reduced by 3 folds in 250 mg/L sodium arsenate-treated soil with SA (75 mg/L) for ART98-12. These results show that salicylic acid could alleviate arsenic stress in cowpea and these could be of great value to crop and food producers. physiological parameters and accumulation of compatible solutes in three genotypes of cowpea under arsenic stress.