Chitosan can induce resistance to abiotic stresses, including salt, drought and temperature stress. The dipping of grapevine stem cuttings in 0.5% or 1.0% (w/v) chitosan induced low and high temperature stress tolerance, respectively, while the 1.0% (w/v) chitosan treatment induced drought tolerance, as shown by the maintenance of the chlorophyll content under drought stress (Górnik et al., 2008). Chitosan-induced drought tolerance was also demonstrated in the ‘LPT123’ rice line, although the same chitosan treatment did not induce drought tolerance in the somaclonal variegated ‘LPT123-TC171’ line. H2O2 production after chitosan treatment was important for the induction of drought tolerance (Pongprayoon et al., 2013). Seed soaking with an appropriate chitosan concentration induced salt resistance in isabgol (Plantago ovata Forsk; Mahdavi, 2013), while seed priming with chitosan increased chill tolerance in maize (Guan et al., 2009) by enhancing the germination index and germination time at low temperatures, and producing greater seedling growth in treated seeds compared with untreated seeds.