Water stress effects on chlorophyll fluorescence and chlorophyll content in sugarcane cultivars with contrasting tolerance

Abstract

One way to minimize the impacts caused by water deficit (WD) in agriculture is the use of tolerant cultivars. The physiological evaluation of plants through the potential quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) and estimated chlorophyll content (SPAD index) can be an effective tool in the selection and recommendation of water deficit-tolerant cultivars. Within this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological responses of sugarcane cultivars classified as tolerant or susceptible to water deficit. The experiment was carried out near the city of Jaú, SP, Brazil in a greenhouse, between July and December 2013. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 4 x 2 factorial arrangement, with four replications. We studied four sugarcane cultivars: RB72454, RB855453 (prone to WD), SP81-3250 and SP83-2847 (WD-tolerant) in two water management regimes (with and without deficit). WD reduced stems dry mass of all cultivars, however, the greatest decreases were observed in susceptible cultivars to WD, where the decrease was 58.3 and 74.5% for cultivars RB855443 and RB72454, respectively. As for the SP81-3250 and SP83-2847 cultivars (tolerant), the reduction was 44.1 and 47.7%, respectively. For water deficit-tolerant cultivars, there was lower reduction in potential quantum efficiency of photosystem II and SPAD index; therefore, the physiological characteristics (Fv/Fm and SPAD index) are features that can aid the identification and selection of water deficit tolerant cultivars, and also help the recommendation of these cultivars for harsh environments, minimizing the effects of water deficit on stem yield on the sugarcane crop.

Impact of salicylic acid and sodium hydrosulfide applied singly or in combination on drought tolerance and grain yield in wheat plants

“…The adverse impact of DS on wheat plants is evident in the reduction of maximum Fv/Fm and chlorophyll content. This observation aligns with previous findings in alfalfa (HuiHui et al., 2018), wheat (Gholamin & Khayatnezhad, 2020), and sugarcane (Pincelli & Barbosa, 2018). However, there is a lack of research exploring the combined application of SA and NaHS concerning plant responses to drought stress.…”

Foliar-applied glycine betaine minimizes drought stress-related impact to gas exchange and the photochemical efficiency of PSII in sugarcane

“…Sugarcane is one of the most important agricultural crops worldwide. Sugarcane and ethanol production have been a major industry for years, but the crop has also recently gained ground in the renewable energy sector, with maximum biomass use (Barbosa et al 2015;Silva et al 2018). However, drought stress is one of the factors that most compromises sugarcane development and final yield, particularly in tropical regions (Jangpromma et al 2012;Silva et al 2013).…”

“…However, drought stress is one of the factors that most compromises sugarcane development and final yield, particularly in tropical regions (Jangpromma et al 2012;Silva et al 2013). Drought reduces primary growth and negatively interferes with physiological yield processes, such as gas exchange and photochemical efficiency of PSII (Sales et al 2013;Zivcak et al 2013;Marchiori et al 2017;Silva et al 2018).…”

“…This may be the result of excess energy not used in photosynthesis, damaging the photochemical apparatus via photoinactivation of PSII reaction centers (Kato et al 2003;Sales et al 2013;Guo et al 2018). Information on photodamage and photoinactivation is obtained by analyzing chlorophyll fluorescence to determine the extent to which PSII is using the energy absorbed by chlorophyll and how it is affected by stress (Maxwell and Johnson 2000;Silva et al 2018). The high temperatures and increased solar irradiance generally associated with tropical regions can result in excess energy in photosystems, causing photoinhibition and reduced photosynthesis (Schreiber et al 1994;Sales et al 2013).…”

“…The high temperatures and increased solar irradiance generally associated with tropical regions can result in excess energy in photosystems, causing photoinhibition and reduced photosynthesis (Schreiber et al 1994;Sales et al 2013). Additionally, plant water relations are also affected by leaf relative water content and water potential (Zhang et al 2014), which ultimately alter the plant's physiology processes (Medeiros et al 2013;Silva et al 2018).…”