Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Impacts of Drought and Improves the Yield and Grain Quality of Rice through Enhanced Physiological, Biochemical, and Antioxidant Activities
Agriculture, around the globe, is facing great challenges including the need to increase the production of nutrient-dense food and to withstand climate change’s impact on water and soil conservation. Among these challenges, drought stress is considered the most overwhelming danger for the agricultur...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-06-01
|
| Series: | Plants |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/13/2511 |
| _version_ | 1827734630269190144 |
|---|---|
| author | Shahbaz Khan Danish Ibrar Zuhair Hasnain Muhammad Nawaz Afroz Rais Sami Ullah Safia Gul Manzer H. Siddiqui Sohail Irshad |
| author_facet | Shahbaz Khan Danish Ibrar Zuhair Hasnain Muhammad Nawaz Afroz Rais Sami Ullah Safia Gul Manzer H. Siddiqui Sohail Irshad |
| author_sort | Shahbaz Khan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Agriculture, around the globe, is facing great challenges including the need to increase the production of nutrient-dense food and to withstand climate change’s impact on water and soil conservation. Among these challenges, drought stress is considered the most overwhelming danger for the agriculture sector. Organic plant growth ingredients are frequently used to enhance the growth and production of field crops cultivated in normal and unfavorable conditions. The present study was designed to explore whether leaves extracted from various landraces of Moringa could play a defensive role against drought stress in rice. Seedlings were grown under three water conditions, i.e., normal conditions (control; 100% field capacity), moderate (75%), and severe drought (50%). Leaf extracts obtained from four Moringa landraces were used as foliar spray at the tillering, panicle initiation, and grain filling stages of cultivating rice plants. The levels of water stress negatively influenced photosynthetic pigment synthesis, gas exchange traits, antioxidant activities, and yield and grain quality parameters. Leaf extracts, at the rate of 3%, from all the landraces significantly enhanced the biochemical, physiological, and yield-related attributes of rice plants under normal and unfavorable growth conditions. Particularly, leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace was the most effective biostimulant to increase photosynthetic (8.2%) and transpiration (13.3%) rates, stomatal conductance (8.3%), chlorophyll <i>a</i> (15.9%) and <i>b</i> (9.7%) contents, and carotenoids (10.4%) as compared to water spray. The maximum photosynthesis rate was observed at 14.27 µmol CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup> via application of leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace followed by the DG Khan (13.92 µmol CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>) and Multan (13.9 µmol CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>) landraces, respectively. Improved grain yield (25.4%) and grain quality (an increase of 10.1% in amylose with a decrease of 2.8% in amylopectin) in rice plants along with enzymatic activities such as catalase (21.2%), superoxide dismutase (38.6%), and ascorbate peroxidase (24.3%) were observed at the peak after application of leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace. The maximum grain yield of 53.59 g per plant was recorded when using Faisalabad landrace leaf extract and the minimum (40 g) using water spray. It is concluded from the findings of the current experiment that leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace possesses higher biostimulant potential than other landraces and can be applied to mitigate the adverse impacts of drought stress with higher productivity and improved grain quality of rice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:31:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6404afefcafd4aacbf9680b42ccce1e1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:31:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-6404afefcafd4aacbf9680b42ccce1e12023-11-18T17:18:28ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472023-06-011213251110.3390/plants12132511Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Impacts of Drought and Improves the Yield and Grain Quality of Rice through Enhanced Physiological, Biochemical, and Antioxidant ActivitiesShahbaz Khan0Danish Ibrar1Zuhair Hasnain2Muhammad Nawaz3Afroz Rais4Sami Ullah5Safia Gul6Manzer H. Siddiqui7Sohail Irshad8Department of Agronomy, Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan 32200, PakistanPlant Genetic Resources Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad 45500, PakistanDepartment of Agronomy, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46000, PakistanDepartment of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, PakistanDepartment of Botany, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Quetta 1800, PakistanPakistan Agricultural Research Council, Arid Zone Research Centre, Dera Ismail Khan 29120, PakistanDepartment of Botany, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Quetta 1800, PakistanDepartment of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Agronomy, MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan 64200, PakistanAgriculture, around the globe, is facing great challenges including the need to increase the production of nutrient-dense food and to withstand climate change’s impact on water and soil conservation. Among these challenges, drought stress is considered the most overwhelming danger for the agriculture sector. Organic plant growth ingredients are frequently used to enhance the growth and production of field crops cultivated in normal and unfavorable conditions. The present study was designed to explore whether leaves extracted from various landraces of Moringa could play a defensive role against drought stress in rice. Seedlings were grown under three water conditions, i.e., normal conditions (control; 100% field capacity), moderate (75%), and severe drought (50%). Leaf extracts obtained from four Moringa landraces were used as foliar spray at the tillering, panicle initiation, and grain filling stages of cultivating rice plants. The levels of water stress negatively influenced photosynthetic pigment synthesis, gas exchange traits, antioxidant activities, and yield and grain quality parameters. Leaf extracts, at the rate of 3%, from all the landraces significantly enhanced the biochemical, physiological, and yield-related attributes of rice plants under normal and unfavorable growth conditions. Particularly, leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace was the most effective biostimulant to increase photosynthetic (8.2%) and transpiration (13.3%) rates, stomatal conductance (8.3%), chlorophyll <i>a</i> (15.9%) and <i>b</i> (9.7%) contents, and carotenoids (10.4%) as compared to water spray. The maximum photosynthesis rate was observed at 14.27 µmol CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup> via application of leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace followed by the DG Khan (13.92 µmol CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>) and Multan (13.9 µmol CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>) landraces, respectively. Improved grain yield (25.4%) and grain quality (an increase of 10.1% in amylose with a decrease of 2.8% in amylopectin) in rice plants along with enzymatic activities such as catalase (21.2%), superoxide dismutase (38.6%), and ascorbate peroxidase (24.3%) were observed at the peak after application of leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace. The maximum grain yield of 53.59 g per plant was recorded when using Faisalabad landrace leaf extract and the minimum (40 g) using water spray. It is concluded from the findings of the current experiment that leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace possesses higher biostimulant potential than other landraces and can be applied to mitigate the adverse impacts of drought stress with higher productivity and improved grain quality of rice.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/13/2511biostimulantfoliar applicationgrowthproductivitywater deficit |
| spellingShingle | Shahbaz Khan Danish Ibrar Zuhair Hasnain Muhammad Nawaz Afroz Rais Sami Ullah Safia Gul Manzer H. Siddiqui Sohail Irshad Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Impacts of Drought and Improves the Yield and Grain Quality of Rice through Enhanced Physiological, Biochemical, and Antioxidant Activities Plants biostimulant foliar application growth productivity water deficit |
| title | Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Impacts of Drought and Improves the Yield and Grain Quality of Rice through Enhanced Physiological, Biochemical, and Antioxidant Activities |
| title_full | Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Impacts of Drought and Improves the Yield and Grain Quality of Rice through Enhanced Physiological, Biochemical, and Antioxidant Activities |
| title_fullStr | Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Impacts of Drought and Improves the Yield and Grain Quality of Rice through Enhanced Physiological, Biochemical, and Antioxidant Activities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Impacts of Drought and Improves the Yield and Grain Quality of Rice through Enhanced Physiological, Biochemical, and Antioxidant Activities |
| title_short | Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Impacts of Drought and Improves the Yield and Grain Quality of Rice through Enhanced Physiological, Biochemical, and Antioxidant Activities |
| title_sort | moringa leaf extract mitigates the adverse impacts of drought and improves the yield and grain quality of rice through enhanced physiological biochemical and antioxidant activities |
| topic | biostimulant foliar application growth productivity water deficit |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/13/2511 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shahbazkhan moringaleafextractmitigatestheadverseimpactsofdroughtandimprovestheyieldandgrainqualityofricethroughenhancedphysiologicalbiochemicalandantioxidantactivities AT danishibrar moringaleafextractmitigatestheadverseimpactsofdroughtandimprovestheyieldandgrainqualityofricethroughenhancedphysiologicalbiochemicalandantioxidantactivities AT zuhairhasnain moringaleafextractmitigatestheadverseimpactsofdroughtandimprovestheyieldandgrainqualityofricethroughenhancedphysiologicalbiochemicalandantioxidantactivities AT muhammadnawaz moringaleafextractmitigatestheadverseimpactsofdroughtandimprovestheyieldandgrainqualityofricethroughenhancedphysiologicalbiochemicalandantioxidantactivities AT afrozrais moringaleafextractmitigatestheadverseimpactsofdroughtandimprovestheyieldandgrainqualityofricethroughenhancedphysiologicalbiochemicalandantioxidantactivities AT samiullah moringaleafextractmitigatestheadverseimpactsofdroughtandimprovestheyieldandgrainqualityofricethroughenhancedphysiologicalbiochemicalandantioxidantactivities AT safiagul moringaleafextractmitigatestheadverseimpactsofdroughtandimprovestheyieldandgrainqualityofricethroughenhancedphysiologicalbiochemicalandantioxidantactivities AT manzerhsiddiqui moringaleafextractmitigatestheadverseimpactsofdroughtandimprovestheyieldandgrainqualityofricethroughenhancedphysiologicalbiochemicalandantioxidantactivities AT sohailirshad moringaleafextractmitigatestheadverseimpactsofdroughtandimprovestheyieldandgrainqualityofricethroughenhancedphysiologicalbiochemicalandantioxidantactivities |