Melatonin Pretreatment Alleviated Inhibitory Effects of Drought Stress by Enhancing Anti-Oxidant Activities and Accumulation of Higher Proline and Plant Pigments and Improving Maize Productivity
Drought stress has been shown to have harmful effects on crop productivity worldwide, including in Pakistan, due to rapid climate change scenarios. Extensive work has been reported on the influential role of melatonin (MEL) in either foliar or seed-primed applications; however, its role in root appl...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/10/2398 |
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| author | Nasib Gul Zia Ul Haq Hina Ali Fazal Munsif Syed Shams ul Hassan Simona Bungau |
| author_facet | Nasib Gul Zia Ul Haq Hina Ali Fazal Munsif Syed Shams ul Hassan Simona Bungau |
| author_sort | Nasib Gul |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Drought stress has been shown to have harmful effects on crop productivity worldwide, including in Pakistan, due to rapid climate change scenarios. Extensive work has been reported on the influential role of melatonin (MEL) in either foliar or seed-primed applications; however, its role in root application is seldom reported. We investigated plant biochemical responses, including anti-oxidants, plant pigments, leaf water characteristics, and maize crop production, with MEL treatment under mild and severe drought stress. Maize Cvar. Jalal was subjected to drought stress (60% and 80% of full irrigation) at the four-leaf stage, and MEL was applied as pretreatment with irrigation water at different doses (0, 100, and 200µM). The findings of the study revealed that the Chl <i>a, b</i>, and <i>a</i> + <i>b</i> contents and the carotenoid content significantly increased with MEL application during severe and mild drought stress. After applying 200 µM MEL, leaf water attributes, comprising relative water content (RWC), leaf water content (LWC), and relative saturation deficit (RSD), increased by 1.9%, 100%, and 71.2%, respectively, during mild drought and 17%, 133%, and 32% under severe drought. The anti-oxidant activities of POD, CAT, and APX were remarkably enhanced with MEL during drought stress. Our results showed that root application of 200 µM melatonin boosted seed yield and water productivity by 31% and 38%, and plant biomass increased by 32% and 29% under mild and severe drought stressors compared to plants with no MEL, leading to increased drought tolerance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:53:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-82dbf494ad974f04be75a729c28c2623 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:53:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-82dbf494ad974f04be75a729c28c26232023-11-23T22:26:27ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-10-011210239810.3390/agronomy12102398Melatonin Pretreatment Alleviated Inhibitory Effects of Drought Stress by Enhancing Anti-Oxidant Activities and Accumulation of Higher Proline and Plant Pigments and Improving Maize ProductivityNasib Gul0Zia Ul Haq1Hina Ali2Fazal Munsif3Syed Shams ul Hassan4Simona Bungau5Department of Agricultural Engineering, UET, Peshawar 25000, PakistanDepartment of Agricultural Engineering, UET, Peshawar 25000, PakistanAnimal Genomics and Bioresource Research Unit (AGB Research Unit), Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, ThailandDepartment of Agronomy, Amir Muhammad Khan Campus Mardan, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Peshawar 25000, PakistanShanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410028 Oradea, RomaniaDrought stress has been shown to have harmful effects on crop productivity worldwide, including in Pakistan, due to rapid climate change scenarios. Extensive work has been reported on the influential role of melatonin (MEL) in either foliar or seed-primed applications; however, its role in root application is seldom reported. We investigated plant biochemical responses, including anti-oxidants, plant pigments, leaf water characteristics, and maize crop production, with MEL treatment under mild and severe drought stress. Maize Cvar. Jalal was subjected to drought stress (60% and 80% of full irrigation) at the four-leaf stage, and MEL was applied as pretreatment with irrigation water at different doses (0, 100, and 200µM). The findings of the study revealed that the Chl <i>a, b</i>, and <i>a</i> + <i>b</i> contents and the carotenoid content significantly increased with MEL application during severe and mild drought stress. After applying 200 µM MEL, leaf water attributes, comprising relative water content (RWC), leaf water content (LWC), and relative saturation deficit (RSD), increased by 1.9%, 100%, and 71.2%, respectively, during mild drought and 17%, 133%, and 32% under severe drought. The anti-oxidant activities of POD, CAT, and APX were remarkably enhanced with MEL during drought stress. Our results showed that root application of 200 µM melatonin boosted seed yield and water productivity by 31% and 38%, and plant biomass increased by 32% and 29% under mild and severe drought stressors compared to plants with no MEL, leading to increased drought tolerance.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/10/2398melatonin concentrationrelative water contentchlorophyll contentmild drought stress |
| spellingShingle | Nasib Gul Zia Ul Haq Hina Ali Fazal Munsif Syed Shams ul Hassan Simona Bungau Melatonin Pretreatment Alleviated Inhibitory Effects of Drought Stress by Enhancing Anti-Oxidant Activities and Accumulation of Higher Proline and Plant Pigments and Improving Maize Productivity Agronomy melatonin concentration relative water content chlorophyll content mild drought stress |
| title | Melatonin Pretreatment Alleviated Inhibitory Effects of Drought Stress by Enhancing Anti-Oxidant Activities and Accumulation of Higher Proline and Plant Pigments and Improving Maize Productivity |
| title_full | Melatonin Pretreatment Alleviated Inhibitory Effects of Drought Stress by Enhancing Anti-Oxidant Activities and Accumulation of Higher Proline and Plant Pigments and Improving Maize Productivity |
| title_fullStr | Melatonin Pretreatment Alleviated Inhibitory Effects of Drought Stress by Enhancing Anti-Oxidant Activities and Accumulation of Higher Proline and Plant Pigments and Improving Maize Productivity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Melatonin Pretreatment Alleviated Inhibitory Effects of Drought Stress by Enhancing Anti-Oxidant Activities and Accumulation of Higher Proline and Plant Pigments and Improving Maize Productivity |
| title_short | Melatonin Pretreatment Alleviated Inhibitory Effects of Drought Stress by Enhancing Anti-Oxidant Activities and Accumulation of Higher Proline and Plant Pigments and Improving Maize Productivity |
| title_sort | melatonin pretreatment alleviated inhibitory effects of drought stress by enhancing anti oxidant activities and accumulation of higher proline and plant pigments and improving maize productivity |
| topic | melatonin concentration relative water content chlorophyll content mild drought stress |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/10/2398 |
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