Salt-Induced Damage Alleviation in Tanacetum Balsamita L. by Foliar Application of Dobogen Biofertilizer, Glucose and KNO3


 The effects of NaCl salinity stress and foliar application of KNO3, glucose and Dobogen were tested on Tanacetum balsamita. The results showed the significant interaction effects of salinity and foliar sprays on chlorophyll a, K+, Na+, Mg2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, Mn2+ and Si content, K/Na ratio and total phenolic and flavonoid contents. The highest phenolic content was acquired with 100 mM salinity and foliar spray of Dobogen and glucose, 50 mM NaCl × KNO3 application and 50 mM salinity× nonfoliar application. The highest K/Na ratio was observed in control plants and controls × KNO3 and/or Dobogen application. The greatest Si content was recorded with controls × Dobogen and KNO3 applications and no saline × no foliar control plants. Malondialdehyde, flavonoid and proline contents as well as catalase activity were influenced by the independent effects of treatments. Chlorophyll b and superoxide dismutase were affected by salinity. Total soluble solids and Ca2+ were influenced by foliar applications. Malondialdehyde and proline were the highest at 150 mM salinity. Salinity adversely affected the physiological responses of costmary. However, foliar treatments partially ameliorated the salinity effect, and the results would be advisable to the extension section and pioneer farmers.


Introduction
Costmary (Tanacetum balsamita L. from Asteraceae), a traditional medicinal plant of Iranian origin, has been in common endemic use as avoring, cardiotonic and atulence 1 . Costmary is a volatile oil-bearing plant, and essential oil is a major source of avoring in the food industry. The crop is under production in many parts of Iran and some European countries 1,2 .
Salinity stress has been de ned as the predominant abiotic stressor that limits the growth, development and productivity of plants by reducing the rhizosphere osmotic potential, ionic imbalances, oxidative stress, damage to the cellular membranes, photosynthesis impedance and/or a great increase in lightdependent respiration 3,4,5 . Salinity tolerance is a complicated phenomenon controlled by a cluster of genes mediating several physiological and biochemical processes 6,7 .
In general, the common way to compensate for nutrient shortages in soils is to use chemical fertilizers. However, several surveys demonstrate the deteriorative effects of continuous soil-based chemical fertilizers on ecosystems, with often negative impacts such as nitrate and heavy metal accumulation and eutrophication. Foliar application is bene cial in reducing chemical fertilizer inputs and more in uential in meeting emergent plants and sometimes meeting long-term needs and hence promoting plant growth and development 5,8,9 . Potassium is a major nutrient element with unsubstitutable roles in several vital physiological processes, such as stomatal movement, osmotic regulation, enzymatic activity, cell growth, water balance maintenance, carbohydrate translocation, membrane polarity & stability, and pH equilibrium, and plays chief roles in assimilate translocation in phloem 10,11,12, 13 and secondary metabolisms 14 . Currently, sugars are commonly used as growth regulators that mediate plant development and gene expression under stressful environments 15,16 . Luo et al. 15 noted that trehalose, a nonreduced disaccharide, had an antioxidant role, protected proteins and elicited genes involved in the detoxi cation process in response to environmental stress factors. Plants treated with salicylic acid (SA) were more tolerable to reactive oxygen species (ROS) deterioration under stressful conditions 17,18 . In costmary, SA application greatly reduced the salinity effects from NaCl and CaCl 2 and improved the growth and productivity of plants 2 . Therefore, resorting to protocols reducing the dangerous effects of salinity is of special interest. It seems that with the progressed precipitation declines and the coincident salinity incidence in most localities of Iran, the study of foliar applications with promising reagents under saline conditions to overcome salinity depressions is crucially important. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate i) salinity effects on costmary and ii) the foliar implementation of Dobojen biostimulant, KNO 3 and glucose on the growth and some physiological traits of costmary under salinity stressful conditions.

Material And Methods
This experiment was conducted during the spring and summer of 2019 at the Research Greenhouse of Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran. The greenhouse growing conditions were as follows: lightening period: 16:8 day and night, temperature regime, 30°C and 25°C day and night, and relative humidity of approximately 65±5% in the greenhouse. further analysis. Every pot contained a single rhizome of 10 cm in length × approximately 1 cm in diameter. Each experimental unit consisted of two pots, and the treatments had three replications.
Fresh and dry weight of plants (biomass). The plants were harvested at the early owering stage. The aboveground and belowground parts of the plants were separated, weighed, and air-dried until reaching a constant weight. The fresh and dry biomass of plant organs was recorded by a digital scale (BB141, Boeco, Germany). Furthermore, plant height, root dry weight (oven-dried until constant weight), petiole length and the length and width of leaves were recorded at the harvest time.
Chlorophyll content. Chlorophylls a and b were quanti ed by the method of Prochazkova et al. 19 by a spectrophotometer (T80 + , Beijing, China) at 645 and 665 nm. Leaf samples (0.5 g) were extracted by dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, Sigma Aldrich, Germany) in the dark for 4 h at 65°C, and the results were expressed in mg per g of fresh weight (mg/g Fwt).
Soluble solids content of the leaves. Soluble solid content (TSS) was quanti ed by a hand refractometer (Erma, Tokyo, Japan) from the extract obtained by squeezing the leaves, and the data are presented as 0 Brix.
Elemental composition. Leaves were dried at 75°C for 4 d, weighed, and ground in a Wiley mill to particles less than 0.42 mm. Subsamples (0.2-0.3 g) were acid digested (2 N HCl) and analyzed for nutrient content as described in Chrysargyris et al. (2016). The contents of sodium (Na) and potassium (K) were quanti ed by the ame photometric method (Corning, 410, England). The contents of magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and iron (Fe) were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy (Shimadzu, AA6300, Tokyo, Japan) as previously described by Honarjoo et al. 21 , phosphorus (P) by vanadate molybdate (Honarjoo et al., 2016) and nitrogen (N) content by the Kjeldahl method 21 .
Hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation. The content of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) was assessed according to Arjunan et al. 21 . Leaf tissue (0.2 g) was powdered in liquid N 2 and then ground in ice-cold 0.1% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and centrifuged at 12000 g for 15 min. Aliquots (0.5 mL) of the supernatant were mixed with 0.5 mL of 10 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH=7.5) and 1 mL of 1 M potassium iodide. The H 2 O 2 concentration was evaluated using standards of 5 to 1000 µM H 2 O 2, and a calibration curve was plotted accordingly. The absorbance of the samples and standards was measured at 390 nm, and the results were expressed as µmol H 2 O 2 /g fresh weight.
Lipid peroxidation was determined as described by Azevedo-Neto et al. 22 in terms of malondialdehyde content (MDA). Leaf tissue (0.2 g) was homogenized in 0.1% TCA, and the extract was centrifuged at 12000 g for 15 min. The reaction mixture of 0.5 mL extract and 1.5 mL of 0.5% thiobarbituric acid (TBA) in 20% TCA was incubated at 95°C for 30 min and then cooled in an ice bath. The absorbance was determined at 520 nm and corrected for nonspeci c absorbance at 600 nm. The MDA amount was determined using an extinction coe cient of 155 mM/cm. The results were expressed as nmol of MDA/g fresh weight.
Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity. SOD activity was traced by recording the inhibition of nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) photoreduction by the enzyme. The reaction mixture contained 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.6), 0.1 mM EDTA, 50 mM sodium carbonate, 12 mM L-methionine, 50 µM NBT, 10 µM ribo avin and 100 µL of plant sample extract in a nal volume of 3.0 mL. SOD activity was recorded at 560 nm by a spectrophotometer. One unit (U) of SOD activity was de ned as the amount of enzyme causing 50% inhibition of photochemical reduction of NBT (Alici & Arabaci, 2016). Total phenolics and avonoids content. A methanolic extract of plant tissue (0.5 g) was used to quantify the phenolic content by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent at 755 nm according to Kim et al. 24 . The results were expressed as equivalents of gallic acid (Scharlau, Barcelona, Spain) per g of plant dry weight (mg of GAE/g dry weight).
Total avonoids were assayed according to the aluminum chloride colorimetric method 24, and the absorbance was recorded at 510 nm. The content of total avonoids is expressed as rutin equivalents (mg rutin/g dry tissue).
Proline content. The proline content was assayed according to the method of acid-ninhydrin and toluene at 520 nm, as described by Fedina et al. 25 . The proline content was computed using a standard curve of proline, and the results were expressed as micrograms of proline per gram of plant fresh weight.
Essential oil extraction and analysis. Air-dried plant samples (50 g) were hydrodistilled by a Clevenger-type apparatus from the European pharmacopoeia for 3 hrs. The oils were dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and kept in sealed airtight amber vials until analysis. The EO yield was measured (mL m −2 ), oils were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS-Shimadzu GC2010 gas chromatograph interfaced with Shimadzu GC/MS QP2010 plus mass spectrometer), and the constituents were determined as described previously 26 .
Experimental design and data analysis. The experiment was as factorial based on completely randomized design with three replications and each replication was a pool of two plant tissue samples as biological replications. Data were analyzed by MSTATC and SPSS (ver.15) and means were compared by Duncan's multiple range test at p≤0.05 and p≤0.01%. The graphs were drawn by Microsoft Excel, 2013.

Results And Discussions
Growth related traits. Root dry weight, petiole length and leaf length and width were affected by salinity (P≤0.01) ( Table 1). Leaf length was increased in the control and 50 mM NaCl treatments (Table 2). Meanwhile, the top plant height, petiole length and leaf width were acquired by control plants, while salinity of ≥50 mM decreased those parameters ( Table 2). Similar results were reported by Valizadeh-Kamran et al. 27 on Lavandula stoechas and by Chrysargyris et al. 28 in Mentha spicata grown under saline conditions. Moreover, a reduction in plant height due to salinity has been reported in Solanum nigrum 29 and Tanacetum parthenium 2 . Other studies have shown negative salinity effects on yield and morphological traits as well as on plant height. The reasons ascribed to this are reduced photosynthesis, chlorophyll structural breakdown, diminished vital metabolite biosynthesis and the toxic effects of Na + and Cl − , which all meaningfully reduce cell turgor and plant productivity 3,4,30 . Table 1 ANOVA for the effect of salinity (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl) and foliar applications (no foliar, KNO 3 , glucose and Dobogen) on the root and aerial parts dry weight, plant height, leaf length and width, petiole length, total soluble solid content and essential oil yield of Tanacetum balsamita plants grown hydroponically in perlite. ns, nonsigni cant; *signi cant difference at P ≤ 5%, following two-way ANOVA.
Signi Chlorophyll's content. Figure 1 shows that the highest chl a content was recorded with 50 mM NaCl × foliar application of glucose and KNO 3 and with 100 mM NaCl × KNO 3 treatment (P≤0.01). Chl b was also affected by salinity (P≤0.05) ( Table 3). Up to 100 mM NaCl, there was no difference in chl b content ( Table   2). With increasing photosynthetic pigment content and accumulation, photochemical energy and metabolic activities increase, and hence, growth and productivity improve 34 . In research on coriander (Coriandrum sativum), foliar treatment with KNO 3 under salinity stress improved photosynthesis potential, ionic equilibrium, relative water content, and protein biosynthesis; hence, potassium treatment regulates cell turgor and polarity, xylem translocation, and nitrogen metabolism and ameliorates salinity side effects 35 . Chlorophyl content in plants is an indicator of abiotic stressor tolerance 34 . Abdallah et al. 16 noted that rice seed pretreatment with trehalose increased the chlorophyll content under salinity conditions. It seems that the increase in Rubisco enzyme activity and the consequent enhanced chlorophyll biosynthesis are the major reasons for the improved photosynthesis potential in the plants treated with trehalose, which ultimately led to the enhanced yield and productivity 36 .  Table 3 ANOVA for the effects of salinity (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl) and foliar applications (no foliar, KNO 3 , glucose and Dobogen) on the chlorophyll a and b, total phenolics, avonoids, proline, H 2 O 2 and MDA content as well as on SOD and CAT activity of Tanacetum balsamita plants grown hydroponically in perlite. ns, nonsigni cant; *signi cant difference at P ≤ 5%, **signi cant difference at P ≤ 1%, following two-way ANOVA  Table 4 Mean comparisons for the effects of 2 g L −1 glucose, 2 g L −1 KNO 3 and 2% Dobogen foliar application on TSS, proline and MDA content as well as catalase activity of Tanacetum  Total phenolics and avonoids content. Both total phenolic and avonoid contents were impacted by salinity × foliar application (P≤0.01) ( Table 3). The highest phenolic content was traced by 50 mM NaCl without foliar spray and KNO 3 foliar application as well as with 100 mM NaCl × foliar application of Dobogen and glucose (Fig. 2). The highest data for avonoids were devoted to control plants foliar sprayed with Dobogen, 50 mM NaCl × KNO 3 and glucose foliar treatment and 100 mM salinity + no foliar application (Fig. 3). In rosemary, with salinities of up to 50 mM, the total avonoid content was increased 5 .
Phenolics and avonoids are the major secondary metabolites that nullify oxidants, especially hydroxyl, peroxyl and peroxynitrite radicals 29,37 . In Catharanthus roseous, the application of SA improved dry weight, water content, photosynthetic pigments and proline content as well as increased phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity, which was coincident with phenolic biosynthesis stimulation in plant 2 . Furthermore, in Solanum nigrum, the expression of genes related to carotenoid and avonoid biosynthesis (PAL, chalcone synthase and avonol synthase) was affected by salinity and further enhanced the accumulation of lutein and quercetine-3-β-D-glucoside. With 150 mM salinity, the amounts of quercetin-3-β-D-glucoside were elevated.
Meanwhile, lutein and β-carotene were negatively in uenced by the mentioned salinity levels 29 , depicting the side effects of salinity on antioxidant compound biosynthesis 29 . Overall, salinity stress, by imposing osmotic and ionic stresses and by ionic toxicity, in uences the physiological, biochemical and cellular dynamics of plants. Therefore, plants need to combat salinity deteriorative effects by modifying the genetic pathway and ion selection, distribution and substitution as well as by activating antioxidant systems 29,38 .
Proline. The proline content was affected by the independent effects of salinity and foliar application ( Table 3). The highest proline content was recorded at 150 mM NaCl and was approximately 26% higher than that of the control (Table 2). For the foliar application treatments, KNO 3 foliar spray was the most responsive (Table 4). In coriander, with salinity, proline content was increased, and KNO 3 foliar application reduced proline content 35 . Under salinity, the Na + load considerably increases in the vacuoles. Therefore, the cells need parallel compounds with the same charge to control the osmotic potential of the cells.
K + availability within plant cells induces proline biosynthesis by protein hydrolysis 39 . Proline is able to scavenge free hydroxyl radicals and hence protects and stabilizes macromolecules such as DNA and proteins and furthermore secures cell membranes 40 .
MDA content. MDA content was independently affected by salinity and foliar application ( Table 3). The salinity of 150 mM NaCl contained the highest MDA content (4% more than the control) ( Table 2). Table 4 shows that again, the control plants with no foliar spray treatments had the highest MDA content. Foliar treatments e ciently reduced MDA accumulation, and the lowest MDA amount belonged to the Dobogen foliar application, which was nearly 10% lower than the control (Table 4). In a study conducted on rosemary 5 with increasing salinity, MDA accumulated more in the plant tissue. Under salinity conditions, ROS generation propagates via the enhanced enzymatic activity of membrane-anchored NADPH oxidases and peroxidases (Durner and Klessig, 1996). In costmary, salinity added up MDA production 27 . The simultaneous application of salinity and SA led to reduced amounts of MDA, showing the ameliorative effects of SA on membrane integrity by the reduced genesis of ROS molecules 41 .
SOD activity. SOD activity was in uenced by the salinity treatments ( Table 3). The highest data was recorded for controls. There was no difference between salinity treatments considering SOD activity ( CAT activity. The highest CAT activity was recorded with the control plants + glucose (Table 4). Furthermore, CAT activity was responsive to the independent effects of salinity, and with salinities from 100-150 mM, the activity was increased ( Table 2). The lowest data for CAT were devoted to control plants (Table 2).
Valizadeh Kamran et al. 27 reported that salinity enhanced CAT activity in costmary. CAT is responsible for the catalysis of H 2 O 2 with the help of ascorbate, guaiacol and phenolics 44 . The CAT, peroxidase and ascorbate activities in response to SA application meaningfully reduced membrane deterioration and amended plant tolerance and productivity under stressful environments 45 .
Na + , K + amounts and K + /Na + ratio. Na + and K + amounts and the K + /Na + ratio were in uenced by the interaction effects of salinity and foliar application ( Table 5). The highest K + content was traced with 150 mM NaCl × KNO 3 foliar application (77% more than control) (Fig. 4b). Na + , 100 and 150 mM salinity × no foliar spray and 150 mM NaCl treatment with KNO 3 foliar application were the statistically signi cant treatments (Fig. 4a). The highest K + /Na + ratio belonged to the control treatments (without salinity × without foliar spray) or without salinity × KNO 3 and Dobogen foliar spray (Fig. 4c). Under saline-sodic conditions, Na + enters the apoplastic lumens and with substitution of Ca 2+ ions in the cell membranes, depolarizes membranes and interferes with the selective absorption of essential minerals 46,47 . Salinity stress denatures membranes, breakdowns membrane integrity and, by K + ions, out-leakage stimulates polarization/activation of outward rectifying (KOR) K + channels 46 . Keeping low Na + and high K + levels as well as the increased K + /Na + ratios are goal-oriented criteria that mediate tolerance to salinity stress 38 . It seems that foliar treatment of plants with KNO 3 is a feasible and reliable way to reduce the adverse effects of salinity via the lessened competition between Na + and K + .
Iron and silicon content. The iron amount was increased by the interactions of no salinity × glucose and 150 mM NaCl × glucose (Fig. 4g). The top amount for Si was recorded with no-salinity × no-foliar spray and with foliar spray of KNO 3 and Dobogen (Fig. 4h) Zn 2+ content. Zn 2+ content was impacted by the interaction effects of no saline + no foliar spray treatments, no saline × glucose and Dobogen, 150 mM salinity with no foliar spray, and with glucose and KNO 3 foliar spray × 100 mM salinity with glucose foliar application (Fig. 4e). Zn 2+ plays a pivotal role in membrane integrity and maintains a dominant leadership role in the regulated entrance of Na + and other toxic ions inside the cells. Appropriate Zn 2+ availability is crucial for the survival of plants under saline-stressful environments since, with optimized Zn 2+ availability, the activity of NADPH, an enzyme responsible for the generation of some ROS types, greatly declines 50 . Salinity greatly lessens Zn 2+ absorption by plants and concurrently diminishes the photosynthetic potential, stomatal conductance, respiration rate, chlorophyll content and hormonal balance in plants 5,35 .
Ca 2+ content. Salinity do not in uence Ca 2+ content. The highest Ca 2+ content was recorded in no-foliar and foliar sprays with glucose and KNO 3 (Fig. 5).
Weisany et al. 48 noted that with increasing salinity exposure, Ca 2+ absorption and accumulation declined in soybean roots. Aerial parts of plants are more sensitive to the unbalanced distribution of nutrients than the root system. The discrepancy in salt sensitivity and/or tolerance is species-dependent, and even in a de ned plant taxon, it is quite linked with genetic make-up and speci c gene expression under stressful environments. The availability of appropriate amounts of Ca 2+ is vital for cell membrane integrity and osmotic potential adjustment under saline environments. Excessive Na + in the rhizosphere medium and the subsequent intake of Na + ions substitutes cell wall bonded Ca 2+ with fake Na + ions, persuades magni cent devastation on cells, tissue and plant organs and, subsequently, on the growth potential and productivity 48 . Elevated Ca 2+ content as a secondary cellular messenger regulates the expression of speci c salinity-dependent genes in favor of disciplined osmotic regulation, water absorption, ionic balances and hence more acclimation to harsh saline environments in main part by the appropriate responses of antioxidants, which improve Ca 2+ intake for the maintenance of cell intactness and viability against oxidative damages 42,51 .
Essential oil yield and constituents. Essential oil yield was not affected by salinity, foliar application or the interaction of salinity × foliar application (Table 6).
Salinity at 0 to 150 mM NaCl did not affect EO yield (averaged at 1.40 mL m −2 ) for plants grown under saline conditions (Table 6). Similarly, foliar application of glucose (averaged at 1.43 mL m −2 ) or Dobogen (averaged at 1.36 mL m −2 ) did not change the EO yield, while KNO 3 application decreased the EO yield at a salinity of 50 mM NaCl compared with the relevant control (0 mM NaCl+ KNO 3 ).
The effects of different salinity levels and foliar application on the chemical composition of the EO of costmary are given in Table 7. Considering the EO analysis, 39 components for salinity, 40 components for glucose and KNO 3 application and 41 components for Dobogen application were identi ed, showing that treatments represented 97.64-99.36% of the oils (Table 7). Oxygenated (monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes) compounds ranged from 89.38-94.50% and 0.82-3.11%, respectively, while hydrocarbon (monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes) compounds ranged from 0.53-1.71% and 1.13-3.44%, respectively ( Table   7). The major constituents of the examined costmary EOs in decreasing order were carvone, cis-thujone, eucalyptol, trans-thujone, n-dodecane, tetradecane, trans-carvone oxide, and β-Βisabolene, while the rest of the compounds were identi ed in amounts lower than 1% of the total volatile component content (Table 7). Following statistical analysis, salinity affected the content of eucalyptol, trans-carvone oxide, and β-Βisabolene, while neither foliar application nor the interaction of salinity × foliar treatment affected the EO composition (Table 6).
Foliar Dobogen application in nonsaline-grown plants increased the eucalyptol content compared with that in the nonsprayed plants. Similarly, KNO 3 foliar application in nonsaline-grown plants increased the trans-carvone oxide content compared to the control treatment (no foliar) ( Table 7). Terpenoids, as the major secondary metabolites of essential oil-bearing plants, respond to agricultural practices and environmental stimuli. Plants react to divergent environmental conditions by variations in the quantity and proportional ratio of chemical constituents. Under varying agricultural practices, the uctuations in the phytochemical pro le of plants are quite logical as well. The genetic make-up and phytochemical potential of plants inevitably mediate the chemical pro le, albeit in coordination with environmental cues. Therefore, all these sensing and signaling events lead to different physiological, biochemical and yieldrelated responses. These uctuations in the chemical pro les verify the enhanced adaptation process under stressful conditions. Therefore, the proportional variations in the oil constituents in response to the studied treatments are fully acceptable. Table 6 Effect of salinity levels (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl) and foliar applications (no foliar, 2 g L −1 glucose, 2 g L −1 KNO 3 , and 2% Dobogen) on the essential oil yield ( mL/m2 ) and components (with > 1% content) in costmary grown in hydroponics. ns, *, **, and *** indicate nonsigni cant or signi cant differences at P< 5%, 1% and 0.1%, respectively, following two-way ANOVA.  Table 7 Chemical composition (%) of essential oils of costmary plants exposed to salinity (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl) and foliar applications (no foliar, 2 g L −1 glu followed by the same letter are not signi cantly different, P≤0.05.

Conclusions
The overall results show the ameliorative impacts of foliar treatments on the salinity depression of costmary. Salinity profoundly in uenced plant height, leaf length and width, proline content, CAT and SOD activity and MDA and chlorophyll b amounts. Moreover, total phenolics and avonoids, chlorophyll a, Si, Fe, Mn, and Mg content as well as the K + /Na + ratio were impacted by the treatments. Na + content was responsive to the interaction of salinity × foliar applications. Altogether, costmary was relatively tolerant to salinity depression, and foliar application of KNO 3 and glucose would be cost-effective feasible alternatives to enhance salt tolerance and to improve the growth responses and productivity of costmary.
Declarations Figure 1 Interaction effect of salinity (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl) and foliar applications (no foliar, 2 g L-1 glucose, 2 g L-1 KNO3 and 2% Dobogen biofertilizer) on the chlorophyll a content of Tanacetum balsamita plants grown in perlite. Signi cant differences among treatments are indicated by the different Latin letters.

Figure 2
Interaction effects of salinity (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl) and foliar applications (no foliar, 2 g L-1 glucose, 2 g L-1 KNO3 and 2% Dobogen biofertilizer) on the total phenolic content of Tanacetum balsamita plants grown in perlite. Signi cant differences among treatments are indicated by different Latin letters Figure 3 Interaction effects of salinity (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl) and foliar applications (no foliar, 2 g L-1 glucose, 2 g L-1 KNO3 and 2% Dobogen biofertilizer) on avonoid content of Tanacetum balsamita plants grown in perlite. Signi cant differences among treatments are indicated by different Latin letters.