Biostimulation of Maize (Zea mays) and Irrigation Management Improved Crop Growth and Water Use under Controlled Environment

Water deficits during the growing season are a major factor limiting crop production. Therefore, reducing water use during crop production by the application of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is crucially important in water resources. There are few reports on the biostimulants used for growth and water use efficiency (WUE) in maize (Zea mays Linn.) under RDI. Therefore, the influence of betaine and chitin treatments, alone and in combination, on maize cultivar ‘White Pearl’ was assessed by observing changes in the physiology and morphology of plants exposed to RDI. Plants were grown in plastic pots in greenhouses and maintained under full irrigation (FI) for 1 week until imposing RDI and biostimulants. Plants were then subjected to FI (no water deficiency treatment, field capacity >70%) and RDI (field capacity <50%) conditions until the end of each experiment. Plant agronomic performance, photosynthesis parameters, and WUE values were recorded weekly for 8 weeks and three individual experiments were carried out to assess the efficacy of biostimulants and irrigation treatments. Betaine (0, 50, and 100 mM/plant) was foliage-treated every 2 weeks during Experiment 1, but chitin (0, 2, and 4 g/kg) was applied to the soil at the beginning of Experiment 2. The optimal concentration of each chemical alone or in combination was then applied to the plants as Experiment 3. A factorial experiment design of two factors with different levels under a completely randomized arrangement was used in this investigation. Betaine (50 mM) or chitin (2 g/kg) treatments alone significantly elevated total fresh weight (63.03 or 124.07 g/plant), dry weight (18.00 or 22.34 g/plant), and cob weight (3.15 or 6.04 g/plant) and boosted the water-stress tolerance of the maize under RDI compared to controls. However, a combination treatment of 50 mM betaine and 2 g/kg chitin did not increase plant height, fresh shoot and root weights, dry cob weight, and total dry weight under RDI compared to controls. Soil-plant analysis development (SPAD) values (>30) were effective in detecting plant growth performance and WUE values under RDI. These findings may have greater significance for farming in dry lands and offer information for further physiological studies on maize WUE and water stress tolerance

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Interspecific Differences in Physiological and Biochemical Traits Drive the Water Stress Tolerance in Young Morus alba L. and Conocarpus erectus L. Saplings

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10081615 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 1615

Author(s):

Zikria Zafar ◽

Fahad Rasheed ◽

Ahsan Ul Haq ◽

Faridah Hanum Ibrahim ◽

Shazia Afzal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Stress Tolerance ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Deficit ◽

High Stress ◽

Field Capacity ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Soil Water Deficit ◽

Water Stress Tolerance ◽

Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency

Mitigating climate change requires the identification of tree species that can tolerate water stress with fewer negative impacts on plant productivity. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the water stress tolerance of young saplings of C. erectus and M. alba under three soil water deficit treatments (control, CK, 90% field capacity, FC, medium stress MS, 60% FC and high stress, HS, 30% FC) under controlled conditions. Results showed that leaf and stem dry weight decreased significantly in both species under MS and HS. However, root dry weight and root/shoot ratio increased, and total dry weight remained similar to CK under MS in C. erectus saplings. Stomatal conductance, CO2 assimilation rate decreased, and intrinsic water use efficiency increased significantly in both species under MS and HS treatments. The concentration of hydrogen peroxide, superoxide radical, malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage increased in both the species under soil water deficit but was highest in M. alba. The concentration of antioxidative enzymes like superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase also increased in both species under MS and HS but was highest in C. erectus. Therefore, results suggest that C. erectus saplings depicted a better tolerance to MS due to an effective antioxidative enzyme system.

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Effect of water stress on growth, water use efficiency and gas exchange as related to osmotic adjustment of two halophytes Atriplex spp.

Functional Plant Biology ◽

10.1071/fp12245 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 40 (5) ◽

pp. 466 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Oumelkheir Belkheiri ◽

Maurizio Mulas

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Osmotic Adjustment ◽

Late Summer ◽

Field Capacity ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Co2 Assimilation ◽

Effect Of Water ◽

Use Efficiency

Atriplex halimus L. is known in the Mediterranean basin and along the coastal areas of Sardinia for its adaptability to salinity, although less information is available on the resistance of this species to water stress in absence of salinity. The effect of water stress on growth and water utilisation was investigated in two Atriplex species: A. halimus originating of south Sardinian island and the exotic species Atriplex nummularia Lindl., originating in Australia and widely used in land restoration of arid areas. Water stress was applied to young plants growing in 20 L pots with a sufficient water reserve to store a potentially sufficient water reserve to maintain substrate near to field capacity (30%) between irrigations. Watering was at 70% (control) or 40% (stress) of field capacity. In order to simulate the grazing by livestock, four plant biomass cuttings were conducted at times T0, T1, T2 and T3, corresponding to one cutting at the end of well watered phase (T0) before water stress induction, two cuttings after cycles of 5 weeks each during full summer (T1) and late summer (T2) and one cutting during autumn (T3). All plants remained alive until the end of treatment although growth was strongly reduced. Leaf dry weight (DW) and water use efficiency (WUE) were determined for all cuttings; relative water content (RWC), turgid weight : dry weight ratio (TW : DW), water potential (Ψw), osmotic potential (Ψs), CO2 assimilation, osmotic adjustment (OA), abscisic acid (ABA) and sugar accumulation were determined for the late summer cutting at T2. Water stress induced a decrease in DW, RWC, Ψw, Ψs, TW : DW and CO2 assimilation for both species, but an increase in WUE expressed in terms of dry matter production and a high accumulation of ABA and total sugars mainly for A. halimus. This suggests a more developed adaptive mechanism in this selection. Indeed, the clone was selected from the southern part of the island, where natural populations of saltbush are more exposed to abiotic stresses, mainly the water stress generated not by salinity. A. nummularia showed a greater OA and a positive net solute accumulation as than A. halimus, suggesting that water stress resistance in A. halimus is linked to a higher WUE rather than a greater osmotic adjustment.

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Physiological Basis of Water Stress Tolerance in Soybean

Bangladesh Agronomy Journal ◽

10.3329/baj.v18i2.28908 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 71-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

KK Sarkar ◽

MA Mannan ◽

MM Haque ◽

JU Ahmed

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Drought Tolerance ◽

Stress Tolerance ◽

Field Capacity ◽

Yield Reduction ◽

Genotypic Variability ◽

Physiological Basis ◽

Water Stress Tolerance ◽

Malondialdehyde Content ◽

Soybean Genotypes

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of water stress on physiological parameters associated to drought tolerance in soybean at the Department of Agronomy, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh during January to April, 2015. Four soybean genotypes namely i) BU Soybean 1 ii) Binasoybean 1 iii) Galarsum and iv) BARI Soybean 5 were grown in two watering regimes viz. control (80% of the field capacity) and water stress (50% of the field capacity). Genotypic variability was found in water stress tolerance in soybean. Highest accumulation of leaf proline, sugar and water content and lower accumulation of malondialdehyde were found in Binasoybean 1 compared to other genotypes. Lowest yield reduction was found in Binasoybean 1. Binasoybean 1 showed relatively higher drought tolerance whereas BARI Soybean 5 was found susceptible to yield. It was found that higher water stress tolerance in Binasoybean 1 was associated with better water relations and higher accumulation of sugar and proline and lower accumulation of malondialdehyde content in leaf.Bangladesh Agron. J. 2015, 18(2): 71-78

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The response of winter barley (Hordeum vulgare) and forage maize (Zea mays) crops to polyhalite, a multi-nutrient fertilizer

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s002185962000060x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 158 (4) ◽

pp. 269-278

Author(s):

R.D. Lillywhite ◽

J. J. J. Wiltshire ◽

J. Webb ◽

H. Menadue

Keyword(s):

Zea Mays ◽

Hordeum Vulgare ◽

Crop Production ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Field Trials ◽

Winter Barley ◽

Forage Maize ◽

Application Rates ◽

Total Dry Weight ◽

The Uk

AbstractPolyhalite is a multi-nutrient mineral ore containing potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulphur (S). Historically, it has enjoyed minor use as a fertilizer, but the opening of a new mine in the UK will make larger quantities available. Therefore, an examination of the performance of crops fertilized with polyhalite, or selected commercial alternatives, was pertinent and is reported here.Four field trials were carried out between 2013 and 2016 to investigate the response of winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and forage maize (Zea mays L.) to different application rates of polyhalite, potassium chloride (muriate of potash, MOP) and potassium sulphate (sulphate of potash, SOP) fertilizers. Potassium and S nutrition were the focus of these trials as they limit field production more often than Mg and Ca.Polyhalite was found to be an effective source of both K and S for crop production. In three out of four trials, application of polyhalite resulted in similar or greater K offtake compared with both MOP and SOP; MOP application resulted in greater K offtake in one trial. In three out of four trials, application of polyhalite resulted in similar or better S offtake compared with both MOP and SOP; SOP application resulted in greater S offtake in one trial. Polyhalite and MOP treatments produced similar total dry weight in all four trials, but were slightly inferior to SOP treatment.

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Research Article Popcorn breeding for water-stress tolerance or for agronomic water-use efficiency?

Genetics and Molecular Research ◽

10.4238/gmr18184 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

S.H. Kamphorst ◽

V.J. de Lima ◽

A.T. do Amaral Júnior ◽

K.F.M. Schmitt ◽

J.T. Leite ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Stress Tolerance ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Stress Tolerance ◽

Research Article ◽

Use Efficiency

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Osmotic adjustment and its use as a selection criterion in Eucalyptus seedlings

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x94-310 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 24 (12) ◽

pp. 2404-2408 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Jorge H. Lemcoff ◽

Ana B. Guarnaschelli ◽

Ana M. Garau ◽

María E. Bascialli ◽

Claudio M. Ghersa

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Drought Stress ◽

Stress Tolerance ◽

Osmotic Adjustment ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Selection Criterion ◽

Field Capacity ◽

Water Stress Tolerance ◽

Early Developmental Stages ◽

Early Developmental

Osmotic adjustment was studied in 6-month-old seedlings of Eucalyptuscamaldulensis Dehnh., Eucalyptustereticornis Smith, Eucalyptusviminalis Labill., and Eucalyptusgrandis Hill ex Maiden. Because osmotic adjustment is related to water-stress tolerance, it can be used as a selection criterion of material adapted to drought. Half of the individuals of each species were submitted gradually to water stress, while the rest were maintained in soil at field capacity. Twenty-five days later the effect of stress on the development of osmotic adjustment was analyzed. All species had adjusted osmotically. The lowest osmotic adjustment was observed in E. camaldulensis and E. grandis (14.1% and 15.2%, respectively). Eucalyptusviminalis and E. tereticornis had values of 32.3% and 41.9%, respectively. Our results demonstrate that species differ significantly in their extent of osmotic adjustment under drought stress, and that it is possible to use this inductive plant feature as one of the criteria to select, during early developmental stages, Eucalyptus genotypes adapted to drought-prone environments. Some phylogenetic considerations are presented.

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