ACTIVITY OF ENZYME CATALASE IN ALFALFA (Medicago sativa L.) AS AN INDICATOR FOR ABIOTC STRESS

Abstract

To understand the adaptability of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) to environmental stress, we analyzed the activity of antioxidant enzyme catalase in alfalfa shoots at three slopes, subjected to drought stress during vegetation. The presence of the enzyme catalase is a signal that changes occur in plants, due to certain environmental abiotic stress factors. Catalase is a ferment that intensely catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen, which is produced under stressful conditions. Owing to the toxic nature of H₂O₂ to   living plant cell, the importance of catalase is of great essence for the plants to adapt to stressful environmental conditions. Therefore, increased antioxidant activity of the enzyme catalase is considered as an indicator of abiotic stress conditions in plants.

The research in this paper aims to determine the activity of enzyme catalase in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) from three slopes, on 19 investigated locations in three regions of Tetovo, Skopje and Ovche Pole in the Republic of North Macedonia. The climatic conditions in the studied regions are determined with climate diagrams by Walter, and the results clearly indicate that the arid period, observed with water deficit and soil salinity in the Ovche Pole region, confirms the increased activity of the catalase enzyme.