Silicon and Rhizophagus irregularis: potential candidates for ameliorating negative impacts of arsenate and arsenite stress on growth, nutrient acquisition and productivity in Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. genotypes

Abstract

Arsenic (As) gets accumulated in plants via phosphorous transporters and water channels and interferes with nutrient and water uptake, adversely affecting growth and productivity. Although, Si and AM have been reported to combat arsenic stress, their comparative and interactive roles in ameliorating As V and As III toxicities have not been reported. Study evaluated effects of Si and Rhizophagus irregularis on growth, As uptake and yield under arsenate and arsenite stress in two pigeonpea genotypes (metal tolerant-Pusa 2002 and metal sensitive-Pusa 991). Higher As accumulation and translocation was observed in As III treated roots of Pusa 991 than those of Pusa 2002 when compared with As V. Roots were more negatively affected than shoots which led to a significant decline in nutrient uptake, leaf chlorophylls, and yield, with As III inducing more negative effects. Pusa 2002 established more effective mycorrhizal symbiosis and had higher biomass than Pusa 991. Si was more effective in inducing shoot biomass while AM inoculation significantly improved root biomass. AM enhanced Si uptake in roots and leaves in a genotype dependent manner. Combined application of Si and AM were highly beneficial in improving leaf water status, chlorophyll pigments, biomass, and productivity. Complete amelioration of negative impacts of both concentrations of As V and lower concentration of As III were recorded under +Si +AM in Pusa 2002. Results highlighted great potential of Si in improving growth and productivity of pigeonpea through R. irregularis under As V and As III stresses.

The combined use of silicon and arbuscular mycorrhizas to mitigate salinity and drought stress in rice

“…As mentioned above, Si nutrition can impart significant benefits to plants, but to what extent, may be limited by the plant's capacity to absorb Si (Anda et al, 2016;Etesami et al, 2021;Thorne et al, 2022). On the other hand, AMs have been consistently reported to increase Si uptake (Clark and Zeto, 2000;Clark and Zeto, 1996;Garg and Bhandari, 2016a;Garg and Kashyap, 2017;Oye Anda et al, 2016;Yost and Fox, 1982). It is well established that AMF can accumulate Si within their spores and hyphae and transfer it into plant roots which in turn increases the plant's access to Si (Hammer et al, 2011).…”

Effect of Silicon Nanoparticles on Tomato Plants Exposed to Two Forms of Inorganic Arsenic

“…Reduced Ca, P, Mg, and N uptake have been reported in different tissues of perennial ryegrass plants subjected to an As stress condition [71]. In Cajanus cajan L. plants, lower nutrient uptake was observed when they were exposed to As III compared to As V [72].…”