Exogenous nitric oxide improves salt tolerance during establishment of Jatropha curcas seedlings by ameliorating oxidative damage and toxic ion accumulation.

Jatropha curcas is an oilseed species that is considered an excellent alternative energy source for fossil-based fuels for growing in arid and semiarid regions, where salinity is becoming a stringent problem to crop production. Our working hypothesis was that nitric oxide (NO) priming enhances salt tolerance of J. curcas during early seedling development.