Salinity stress is one of the most important abiotic stresses in agriculture, from which about 20% of the total land cover is suffered. Considering the cultivation importance of C. argenea as well as the role of salicylic acid (SA) in tolerance and reducing the effects of salinity stress, the current study was conducted. This research was carried out as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications. The factors included salinity in four levels (0, 40, 80 and 120 mM NaCl) and SA at three levels (0, 1 and 2 mM). The results showed that the effects of salinity stress on morphological and physiological characteristics were significant, indicating a negative effect of salinity on growth and flowering of C. argentea. Foliar application of SA, especially at 1mM, improved the morphological and physiological characteristics. Correlation between the measured traits showed that proline, MDA and electrolyte leakage had a significant negative correlation with the other measured traits. As stress increased, stomatal conductance decreased, indicating closure of stomata during stress and plant resistance. In general, SA application (in particular with 1 mM concentration) increased photosynthesis rate through the improvement of plant pigments and proline contents under salinity stress. Therefore, due to its cheapness and compatibility with the environment, SA is a simple solution to reduce salinity stress in this plant. Manuscript profile

The strong antioxidant activity of Pelargonium graveolens is well established. The question addressed in this study was whether different concentrations of exogenous ascorbic acid (AsA) and iron (Fe) could influence the antioxidant activity and total phenol content (TPC) of geranium. Thus, three levels of Fe (0, 20 and 40 µM) and three levels of AsA (0, 1 and 2 mM) in the nutrient solution were combined factorially based on a completely randomized design with six replications, and chlorophyll content, TPC, and antioxidant activities of the leaves were measured. The results showed that oil content, ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase (CAT) activities were increased in leaf samples under Fe starvation, regardless of the AsA concentration. The highest peroxidase (POD) activity was observed in samples treated with 20 µM Fe and 1 mM AsA. The highest total chlorophyll content was produced in plants treated with 40 µM Fe along with 1 mM AsA. TPC was increased with an increase in Fe concentration. Despite the positive effect of AsA on the pigment contents, plants treated with AsA showed lower TPC under all Fe concentrations. In total, lower Fe nutrition increased oil content and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity of geranium. AsA application increased oil content while decreased total phenol and antioxidant activity in this plant. Manuscript profile