Plant Growth, Ion Accumulation and Essential Oil Content of Salvia officinalis Mill. and S. tomentosa L. Grown under Different Salt Stress

This study was conducted to determine the response of Salvia tomentosa Mill. and Salvia officinalis L. to different salinity levels. The salvia plants were grown in 8 L pots filled with the continuously aerated nutrient solution under different salt levels 1 (control), 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 dS m-1 in fully automated climate chambers. The fresh and dry weight of shoot and root, stem length, leaf area, SPAD, CO2 fixation, root length, root diameter, root volume, leaf Na+, K+, Ca++ Cl- content, and amount of essential oil were determined. The increasing salt level decreased significantly plant growth of both Salvia species. However, highly significant differences were found between two Salvia species in terms of shoot and root biomass. Generally, S. tomentosa showed better plant growth performance in plant growth compared to S. officinalis. The Na+ and Cl- content of the leaves significantly increased with increasing salt concentration and the increase was higher in S. tomentosa. The amount of K+ in the leaves decreased due to the increasing salt concentration, while the amount of Ca++ varied depending on the dose. The study showed that the essential oil contents of the sage leaves could be increased with the moderate salt application. The increase in essential oil due to salt stress was higher in S. officinalis. The results showed that Salvia species can be cultivated in low and medium saline soils, second class waters can be used for irrigation of sages and essential oil yield of sages can be increased by using salt stress.