Ascorbic Acid Alleviates Water Stress in Young Peach Trees and Improves Their Performance after Rewatering

Abstract

Exogenous application of biochemicals has been found to improve water stress tolerance in herbaceous crops but there are limited studies on deciduous fruit trees. The goal of this research was to study if ascorbic acid applications could improve physiological mechanisms associated with water stress tolerance in young fruit trees. Ascorbic acid was foliarly applied at a concentration of 250 ppm to water-stressed and well-watered peach trees (control) of two cultivars (‘Scarletprince’ and ‘CaroTiger’). Trees received either one or two applications, and 1 week after the second application all trees were rewatered to field capacity. Upon rewatering, CO2 assimilation and stomatal conductance of water-stressed ‘Scarletprince’ trees sprayed with ascorbic acid (one or two applications) were similar to those of well-irrigated trees, but water-stressed trees that had not received ascorbic acid did not recover photosynthetical functions. Also, water status in sprayed water-stressed ‘Scarletprince’ trees was improved to values similar to control trees. On the other hand, water-stressed ‘CaroTiger’ trees needed two applications of ascorbic acid to reach values of CO2 assimilation similar to control trees but these applications did not improve their water status. In general terms, different response mechanisms to cope with water stress in presence of ascorbic acid were found in each cultivar, with ‘Scarletprince’ trees preferentially using proline as compatible solute and ‘CaroTiger’ trees relying on stomatal regulation. The application of ascorbic acid reduced cell membrane damage and increased catalase activity in water-stressed trees of both cultivars. These results suggest that foliar applications of ascorbic acid could be used as a management practice for improving water stress tolerance of young trees under suboptimal water regimes.

Hydrogen Sulfide Alleviates Waterlogging-Induced Damage in Peach Seedlings via Enhancing Antioxidative System and Inhibiting Ethylene Synthesis

“…Waterlogging stress can impair growth and entry into production of young fruit trees, and reduce the growth, yield and fruit quality of mature trees (Penella et al, 2017). Under hypoxic stress, aerobic respiration is inhibited in root and a large amount of toxic substances, such as ethanol and lactate, are accumulated in the root system (Guo et al, 1998;Morard et al, 2000).…”

The Effect of Magnetized Water on the Growth and Physiological Conditions of Moringa Species under Drought Stress

“…The leaf gas exchange traits such as assimilation (A), transpiration (E), stomatal conductance (gs), water use efficiency (WUE), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and maximum quantum efficiency of the photosystem II were known to decrease under drought stress [11][12][13][14]. Reduction of the photosynthetic electron chain occurred due to stomatal closure and a decrease in CO 2 fixation under drought stress [15].…”

“…These include nutritional management strategies, the application of chemical and biological amendments (including mycorrhizal applications), and the use of robotics and biosensors [15][16]. Some modern technologies have been used for environmental management, including GIS [15] and nanotechnology [17][18][19][20][21][22]. Magnetic water (MW) technology is one of the environmentally friendly and cost-effective techniques, recently used in agricultural fields to result in better crop growth and yield [23].…”

Abiotic Stress in Crop Species: Improving Tolerance by Applying Plant Metabolites

“…However, when 150 mg L −1 AA was applied to leaves during the vegetative stage in greenhouse conditions, tolerance to drought stress was dramatically enhanced, as demonstrated by improvements in metabolic, biochemical, morphological and production parameters [87]. Similarly, for two pot-grown varieties of peach tree (Prunus persica), growth, nutrient uptake, yield, and fruit quality were all favoured by spraying leaves with 250 ppm AA subjected to water stress [88], as a consequence of higher net CO 2 assimilation rate, stomatal conductance, proline levels, and antioxidant enzyme activities. Such positive effects have also been seen in the field: the application of AA to wheat leaves (200 mg L −1 ) over two seasons in an experimental farm increased the relative water and chlorophyll content, with higher antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT and POX), resulting in improvements in the number of grains per spike, the number of spikes, and, consequently, yield [89].…”