In our conditions, the saline irrigation caused a significant decrease in flower fresh mass, which was about 60% after 28 days of treatment. The biomass reduction due to salt stress may be determined either by the decreased availability of water or by
the NaCl toxicity.Previous research on other ornamental flowers showed that quality parameters such as flower weight were unfavorably affected by salinity. In fact, plants subjected to saline irrigation require additional energy in plant cells. This extra metabolic energy is likely to be consumed in processes related to osmotic adjustment within the cells, and hence less carbon is available for growth.This is particularly relevant for plant visual quality, because the most decorative elements for ornamental plants are usually the flowers.