Pyruvic acid as attenuator of water deficit in cotton plants varying the phenological stage

Abstract

The lack of water during crop growth causes damage to any production system, especially when it occurs during the initial establishment or beginning of the reproductive stage. Although cotton can be properly managed in regions with water limitation, its yield is affected at different levels according to the genetics of the cultivar adopted. Exogenous application of some organic components has shown a stress-mitigating effect and can be a valuable procedure to enhance the yield of water stress-sensitive cultivars. The objective of this work was to evaluate the benefits of exogenous application of pyruvic acid (100 µM) in cotton plants under water deficit varying the phenological stage of the crop. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, where the plants were grown in pots and subjected to seven days of water suspension, initiated individually in stages V2 and B1. Each pot contained two plants. The treatments adopted were: T1 - control, T2 - water suppression; and T3 - water suppression + pyruvate application. The design was randomized blocks in a factorial scheme (3 × 3) with three replicates. The reductions in gas exchange and growth of the cultivars BRS Seridó, CNPA 7MH and FM 966 were more significant in the reproductive stage, especially for FM 966, which was more sensitive. Pyruvate application reduced the effects of water suppression on boll production by 31% in BRS Seridó and 34% in CNPA 7MH and FM 966.

Calcium pyruvate in the attenuation of the water deficit on the agro-industrial quality of ratoon sugarcane

“…BR1. In another study, Silva et al (2023) evaluated the benefits of exogenous pyruvic acid (100 µM) in cotton plants under water deficit and observed that the pyruvate attenuated the effects of water suppression on boll production by 31% in the cv. BRS Seridó and by 34% in the cultivars CNPA 7MH and FM 966.…”

Beneficial Effect of Exogenously Applied Calcium Pyruvate in Alleviating Water Deficit in Sugarcane as Assessed by Chlorophyll a Fluorescence Technique

“…Although the negative effects of water stress on fluorescence emission and the photosynthetic pigment content of sugarcane plants are well reported in the literature [12][13][14][15], there are reports that organic substances can mitigate the harmful effects of drought by increasing the ability of plants to withstand such deleterious conditions, e.g., studies of pyruvate application carried out with peanuts [16] and cotton [17,18]. However, research focusing on the photosynthetic apparatus of sugarcane plants has not yet been carried out.…”