Enhancement of Drought Tolerance in Salvia coccinea Plants by Irradiation with Gamma and Laser Pre-Treatments

Gamma- and laser-irradiated seeds were grown under drought stress conditions to evaluate the irradiation effects on growth, flowering and some physiological traits of Salvia coccinea plants grown in pots. Pre-sowing gamma-irradiation at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 k.rad or laser irradiation (He-Ne) for 5, 10, 15 and 20 min. exposure time were applied. Soil moisture levels were imposed by irrigating the plants with 100 (control), 80, 60 and 40% of field capacity (F.C.).