Alleviation of the adverse effects of drought stress on solanum lycopersicum by UV-B priming

Drought stress is one of the important stress factors affecting growth and development in tomato seedlings. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of physiological and biochemical changes and recovery caused by drought and/or UV-B preparation in tomato seeds. In root development, a decrease occurred in seedlings exposed to drought only and an increase occurred in all UV-B preparation treatments compared to control. Increases were detected in shoot development in all treatment groups. Increases were detected in chlorophyll amounts in all groups except 20' UV-B preparation, and in carotenoid and total protein amounts in all treatments compared to control. DPPH values ​​decreased in all treatment groups, SOD and CAT activities reduced in treatments except 20' UV-B preparation. Total phenolic substance amount decreased in all treatments except 10' UV-B treatment. It was determined that UV-B preparation of tomato seeds caused improvements in biochemical and physiological parameters in both stress-free and stressed conditions. UV-B prime applications are thought to be an effective tool to reduce the effects of drought stress in tomato and increase the recovery rate.