Melatonin as a Foliar Application and Adaptation in Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) Crops under Drought Stress

Abstract

Here, we grow two different varieties of lentil (lentil-2009 and lentil-93) under different drought levels and with different applications of melatonin. Increasing the levels of soil water deficit significantly decreased numerous morphological and biochemical characteristics, including shoot length, total chlorophyll content, and transpiration rate, in both varieties of lentil. Contrastingly, drought stress increased the concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and electrolyte leakage, an indicator of oxidative damage to membrane-bound organelles. The activities of enzymatic antioxidants and osmolytes were initially increased up to a drought level of 80% water field capacity (WFC) but gradually decreased with higher levels of drought stress (60% WFC) in the soil. At the same time, the results also showed that the lentil-2009 is more tolerant to drought stress than lentil-93. The negative impact of drought stress can be overcome by the application of melatonin. Melatonin increased plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange characteristics, and enhanced the activities of various enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants and proline content by decreasing oxidative stress. We conclude that foliar application of melatonin offers new possibilities for promoting lentil drought tolerance.

Efficacy of Naphthyl Acetic Acid Foliar Spray in Moderating Drought Effects on the Morphological and Physiological Traits of Maize Plants (Zea maysL.)

“…Drought stress causes numerous physiological and biochemical changes in various agriculture crops . Changes in protein expression, accumulation, and synthesis have been seen in many plant species as a result of drought stress during growth.…”

Effects of Poultry Manure on the Growth, Physiology, Yield, and Yield-Related Traits of Maize Varieties

“…Physiological attributes such as the leaf area index, the leaf temperature, the transpiration rate, the photosynthetic rate, the WUE, and stomatal conductance play a significant role in plant growth and production. − These physiological attributes are sensitive to growth conditions such as nutrients and water availability in the soil and various other environmental factors, that is, temperature, drought, − salinity, and heavy metal. − Leaf area index, leaf temperature, transpiration rate, photosynthetic rate, WUE, and stomatal conductance were increased in both maize varieties, Pearl (77.8, 3.24, 2.10, 77.8, 9.60, 92.42, and 71.23%, respectively) and MMRI (91.2, 0.17, 3.96, 95.6, 4.5, 53.62, 70.07, and 100%, respectively), grown in soil amended with different levels of PM as compared to their respective control. Both maize varieties differently responded to each treatment of PM for each physiological trait.…”

Silicic and Ascorbic Acid Induced Modulations in Photosynthetic, Mineral Uptake, and Yield Attributes of Mung Bean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) under Ozone Stress

“…Among various practices adopted to ameliorate the toxic effect of O 3 , the signaling crosstalk of plant growth regulators has recently attracted considerable attention from plant physiologists worldwide . It is a well-known fact that plant growth regulators can protect plants against abiotic stresses like temperature, heavy metals, , salt, heat, O 3 , and drought. − Commercially available growth promoters are widely used to improve agronomic features for high crop yield, stress tolerance, and growth promotion in many plant species . There are ∼40 compounds that work as plant growth regulators, but there is very little information about the mode of action and the regulatory pathways involved .…”