Selection of Soybean and Cowpea Cultivars with Superior Performance under Drought Using Growth and Biochemical Aspects

Abstract

Identifying cultivars of leguminous crops exhibiting drought resistance has become crucial in addressing water scarcity issues. This investigative study aimed to select soybean and cowpea cultivars with enhanced potential to grow under water restriction during the vegetative stage. Two parallel trials were conducted using seven soybean (AS3810IPRO, M8644IPRO, TMG1180RR, NS 8338IPRO, BMX81I81IPRO, M8808IPRO, and BÔNUS8579IPRO) and cowpea cultivars (Aracê, Novaera, Pajeú, Pitiúba, Tumucumaque, TVU, and Xique-xique) under four water levels (75, 60, 45, and 30% field capacity—FC) over 21 days. Growth, water content, membrane damage, photosynthetic pigments, organic compounds, and proline levels were analyzed. Drought stress significantly impacted the growth of both crops, particularly at 45 and 30% FC for soybean and 60 and 45% FC for cowpea plants. The BÔNUS8579IPRO and TMG1180RR soybean cultivars demonstrated the highest performance under drought, a response attributed to increased amino acids and proline contents, which likely help to mitigate membrane damage. For cowpea, the superior performance of the drought-stressed Xique-xique cultivar was associated with the maintenance of water content and elevated photosynthetic pigments, which contributed to the preservation of the photosynthetic efficiency and carbohydrate levels. Our findings clearly indicate promising leguminous cultivars that grow under water restriction, serving as viable alternatives for cultivating in water-limited environments.

Magnesium supplementation alleviates drought damage during vegetative stage of soybean plants

“…In a preliminary study under greenhouse conditions, we challenged seven soybean genotypes (AS3810 IPRO, M8644 IPRO, TMG 1180, NS8338 IPRO, BMX 81I81, M8808 IPRO and Bo ˆnus 8579) to several drought treatments to choose the most drought-contrasting genotypes. Based on plant growth and indicators of stress tolerance, we observed that M8808 is droughtsensitive; Bo ˆnus 8579 is tolerant to moderate drought and discreetly tolerant to severe stress; and TMG is highly tolerant to drought [27]. In the current study, field experiments were carried out to evaluate the role of Mg supplementation in triggering water stress acclimation in drought-sensitivity contrasting soybean genotypes.…”

Enhanced Antioxidant Activity and Secondary Metabolite Production in Tartary Buckwheat under Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)-Induced Drought Stress during Germination

“…Notably, XiNong 9943, QianKu-5, and XiNong 9940 genotypes demonstrated a greater ability to withstand drought, as evidenced by their reduced shoots and roots length reductions and biomass accumulation in comparison to other cultivars. Several previous studies demonstrated that genotypes with elongated shoots and roots lengths [24,44], and lesser reductions in seedling water content and biomass accumulation [45,46] under drought stress conditions are essential for sustainable agricultural practices. These results emphasize the importance of identifying and selecting genotypes with superior drought tolerance traits to enhance crop productivity in water-stressed environments.…”

Molecular Basis of Crops and Fruit Plants in Response to Stress

“…Specific endophytes can improve the resistance of pepper [4] and tomato [5] plants to biotic or abiotic stresses. Miranda et al [6] identified soybean and cowpea cultivars with superior performance under drought. Aziz et al [7] revealed the critical involvement of glycolysis, fermentation, and alternative oxidase to salt stress tolerance in rice.…”

“…The articles published in this SI covered the identification and characterization of transcription factors associated with stress resistance [1][2][3], beneficial endophytic/plant interaction [4,5], and molecular mechanisms involved in crops and fruit plants to stress tolerance [6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…Miranda et al [6] explored the growth and biochemical parameters in leguminous plants such as soybeans and cowpeas to select cultivars with superior performance under drought during the vegetative stage. The authors observed that, in general, soybean cultivars proved to be more resistant to drought than cowpea cultivars.…”