{"title":"Foliar Application of Plant Growth Regulators Enhances Drought Tolerance by Modulating Growth and Biochemical Responses in Sugarcane Varieties","authors":"Shakeel Ahmad, Yaowen Deng, Rongman Lv, Kashif Akhtar, Ihsan Muhammad, Muhammad Farooq, Ronghui Wen","doi":"10.1111/jac.12784","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n <p>Plant growth regulators (PGRs) improve crop growth and mitigate the adverse effects of drought stress. This study explores the effects of various PGRs including melatonin (MT), indole-butyric acid (IBA) and gibberellic acid (GA<sub>3</sub>) on drought-tolerant Zhongzhe 9 (ZZ9) and Xintaitang 22 (ROC22), as well as drought-sensitive varieties Guitang-44 (GT44) and Funong 41 (FN41) varieties. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the foliar application of these hormones alone or in combination on sugarcane seedlings under drought stress conditions. At the sixth leaf stage, drought stress was induced by reducing soil moisture to 40%–45% field capacity. Results showed that the drought-sensitive variety GT44 had the highest plant height (17.97 cm), while PGRs application enhanced the relative water content (RWC) in FN41 by 0.96%. PGRs treatment also increased plant height by 33.98% and RWC by 3.26% compared to controls. MT application significantly increased chlorophyll a and b contents in FN41 by 4.82% and 4.51%, respectively. Antioxidant enzyme activities superoxide dismutase and peroxidase increased by 16.39% and 12.57%, respectively, indicating enhanced oxidative stress defence. Moreover, PGRs applications reduced hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, signifying decreased oxidative damages. The combinations of MT + GA<sub>3</sub> and MT + IBA + GA<sub>3</sub> significantly improved the plant growth attributes, antioxidant enzymes, osmolytes and reduced the accumulation of ROS and MDA content in both tolerant and sensitive varieties under drought stress. Thus, combined application of MT + GA<sub>3</sub> and MT + IBA + GA<sub>3</sub> treatments effectively mitigated drought stress in sugarcane seedlings, providing valuable insights for sustainable agricultural practices.</p>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":14864,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science","volume":"210 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jac.12784","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AGRONOMY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Plant growth regulators (PGRs) improve crop growth and mitigate the adverse effects of drought stress. This study explores the effects of various PGRs including melatonin (MT), indole-butyric acid (IBA) and gibberellic acid (GA3) on drought-tolerant Zhongzhe 9 (ZZ9) and Xintaitang 22 (ROC22), as well as drought-sensitive varieties Guitang-44 (GT44) and Funong 41 (FN41) varieties. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the foliar application of these hormones alone or in combination on sugarcane seedlings under drought stress conditions. At the sixth leaf stage, drought stress was induced by reducing soil moisture to 40%–45% field capacity. Results showed that the drought-sensitive variety GT44 had the highest plant height (17.97 cm), while PGRs application enhanced the relative water content (RWC) in FN41 by 0.96%. PGRs treatment also increased plant height by 33.98% and RWC by 3.26% compared to controls. MT application significantly increased chlorophyll a and b contents in FN41 by 4.82% and 4.51%, respectively. Antioxidant enzyme activities superoxide dismutase and peroxidase increased by 16.39% and 12.57%, respectively, indicating enhanced oxidative stress defence. Moreover, PGRs applications reduced hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, signifying decreased oxidative damages. The combinations of MT + GA3 and MT + IBA + GA3 significantly improved the plant growth attributes, antioxidant enzymes, osmolytes and reduced the accumulation of ROS and MDA content in both tolerant and sensitive varieties under drought stress. Thus, combined application of MT + GA3 and MT + IBA + GA3 treatments effectively mitigated drought stress in sugarcane seedlings, providing valuable insights for sustainable agricultural practices.
期刊介绍:
The effects of stress on crop production of agricultural cultivated plants will grow to paramount importance in the 21st century, and the Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science aims to assist in understanding these challenges. In this context, stress refers to extreme conditions under which crops and forages grow. The journal publishes original papers and reviews on the general and special science of abiotic plant stress. Specific topics include: drought, including water-use efficiency, such as salinity, alkaline and acidic stress, extreme temperatures since heat, cold and chilling stress limit the cultivation of crops, flooding and oxidative stress, and means of restricting them. Special attention is on research which have the topic of narrowing the yield gap. The Journal will give preference to field research and studies on plant stress highlighting these subsections. Particular regard is given to application-oriented basic research and applied research. The application of the scientific principles of agricultural crop experimentation is an essential prerequisite for the publication. Studies based on field experiments must show that they have been repeated (at least three times) on the same organism or have been conducted on several different varieties.