Recovery of three different varieties of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) under waterlogging stress

Abstract

Tobacco plant is one of the high commercial crops that give the largest foreign exchange sources in Indonesia. It also contributes to providing employment not only for farmers but also industrial sectors. Tobacco plant experiences growth failure due to excessive rain, which causes waterlogging to the plants so that the plants become submerged and show hypoxia. A hypoxia tolerant variety is needed to reduce losses in tobacco cultivation. The research was conducted in a greenhouse and biology laboratory at the University of PGRI Argopuro Jember. This research aimed to study the post-hypoxic stress recovery ability in three previously studied varieties of tobacco plants such as sensitive, moderate, and tolerant varieties. The results showed that the treatment of hypoxic stress on tobacco plants significantly affected the parameters of stomatal activity, transpiration rate, and the amount of reducing sugar. In the sensitive and moderate tobacco varieties, the greater percentage of waterlogging resulted in decreased stomatal activity, transpiration rate, and percentage of sucrose. The tolerant tobacco varieties (Bojonegoro var.) show a tendency to increase stomatal activity (76.203, 79.735, 86.963, and 92.227, respectively, for waterlogging 100%, 120%, 140%, and 160% field capacity), transpiration rate (0.139, 0.124, 0.130, and 0.146, respectively, for waterlogging 100%, 120%, 140%, and 160% field capacity), and percentage of sucrose (3.45, 3.64, 3.73, and 4.31, respectively, for waterlogging 100%, 120%, 140%, and 160% field capacity) with a higher percentage of waterlogging. Three varieties of tobacco with tolerant, moderate, and sensitive categories to hypoxia developed different metabolisms to cope with energy crises caused by waterlogging stress comprised of the stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and sucrose percentage