Response Of Three Forage Legumes To Soil Moisture Stress

Abstract

Plants of Centrosema pubescens, Lablab purpureus and Stylosanthes guianensis grown separately in pots under green house conditions, were subjected to moisture stress conditions of 100, 75, 50, and 25% field capacity (FC) and the effect on plant growth characteristics assessed. Soil moisture stress significantly reduced plant height, shoot and root dry weights, particularly in Lablab and Stylosanthes. Root/shoot ratio on the other hand increased as soil moisture regime decreased. A change in moisture stress from 100 to 25 % FC reduced nodule numbers by 37, 19 and 9 % in Lablab, Stylosanthes and Centrosema respectively and decreased nitrogen fixed by 32, 9, and 0.4 % in Stylosanthes, Lablab and Centrosema respectively. The mean P content of the plants decreased with decreasing soil moisture content while, that of K increased as moisture stress increased. The overall plant performance pointed to Centrosema as a more favoured forage plant for dry environments .

Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Phosphorus Levels on Growth, Yield, Yield Components and Water use Efficiency of Mung Bean (Vigna radiata (l.) Wilczek) at Alage, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

“…This could be since water helps for cell enlargement and expansion because of turgor pressure and cell division which ultimately increase the growth of the plant. The similar observation has also been reported by Uddin et al [31] in mung bean and Fening et al [41] in forage legumes.…”

Rendimiento y valor nutritivo de leguminosas forrajeras en dos épocas del año y cuatro edades de rebrote

“…This result is possibly due to the fact that during the months of the dry period there was light rain reaching values of 50 mm per month, with the month of May being exceptional with about 150 mm, which favored the growth of cacahuatillo since water availability influences cell division, elongation and differentiation of leaf organs (20) . By contrast, stylo recorded a high potential response to favorable moisture conditions, this species having the largest DMY during the rainy la respuesta puede variar entre leguminosas forrajeras (20) . Esto se reflejó principalmente en las diferencias en RMS de las especies entre las épocas evaluadas, lo que tiene implicaciones en la disponibilidad del forraje entre especies por época del año para el ganado.…”

“…De hecho esta respuesta se esperaba de stylo en base a reportes de su tolerancia a sequía (23) . Esto posiblemente se debió a que en los meses del período seco hubo lluvias ligeras cercanas a los 50 mm por mes, siendo el mes de mayo excepcional con cerca de 150 mm, lo que favoreció el crecimiento de cacahuatillo, ya que la disponibilidad de agua influye en la división celular, elongación y diferenciación de órganos foliares (20) . Por el contrario, stylo registró un alto potencial de respuesta a las condiciones favorables de humedad, siendo esta especie la de mayor RMS en la época lluviosa en las diferentes edades de rebrote, y superó a cacachuatillo en el mes más húmedo de la época seca (mes de mayo), en 1.6 t ha -1 .…”

“…Also the intensity and quality of light and water stress can affect the chemical composition of the plant (18,19) and the response can vary between legumes (20) . This is mainly reflected in the differences in DMY of species between in the seasons evaluated, which has implications for the availability of forage between species per season for livestock.…”

Post-Tin-Mining Agricultural Soil Regeneration Using Local Resources, Reduces Drought Stress and Increases Crop Production on Bangka Island, Indonesia

“…Although cassava can grow under limited water supply, prolonged water scarcity due to irregular rainfall and long drought periods can induce drought stress in cassava and affect crop performance [39]. Drought stress has also been shown to impair nitrogenfixing nodule production and crop yields in centrosema plants [40]. We suggest that it is critical to assess drought resistance in crops when different local soil amendments are applied.…”