Eco-physiological and morphological responses of Pinellia ternate from different sources under drought stress

The objective of the current study was to investigate the effect of drought stress on yield, physiological and biochemical indexes and changes of ecological parameters of artificially cultivated Pinellia ternata. Pinellia ternata were taken from four regions including Changde, Fuling, Ziyang and Bijie. A 75%, 65%, and 55% field water capacity processing were set under the same planting conditions and changes in morphology, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme activity and final yield of Pinellia ternata during the 80-day growth period was determined. Results of current study explored that when the field water capacity drops from 75% to 55%, the leaf area of Bijie Pinellia ternate decreased from 15.29 cm2 to 10.88 cm2 while Ziyang Pinellia ternate tuber fresh weight decreased from 2.58 g to 1.48 g. The content of chlorophyll a in Bijie Pinellia ternate decreased from 1.21 mg/g to 0.89 mg/g . Moderate and severe drought stress can significantly reduce the content of chlorophyll and soluble protein in leaves of Pinellia ternate, while CAT activity, SOD activity and POD activity showed different degrees of increase. Pinellia ternate of different regions showed certain interspecies differences in terms of changes in leaf area, fresh root yield, chlorophyll b content, MDA content, and CAT activity. Based on results, it is concluded that moderate drought stress can cause Pinellia ternate to produce significant ecological and physiological changes, and also affecting its tuber yield. 75% of field water holding capacity is a suitable soil moisture condition