Changes in Photosynthetic Efficiency, Biomass, and Sugar Content of Sweet Sorghum Under Different Water and Salt Conditions in Arid Region of Northwest China

Weihao Sun, Zhibin He (), Bing Liu, Dengke Ma, Rui Si, Rui Li, Shuai Wang and Arash Malekian
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Weihao Sun: China and Iran Joint Laboratory on Agriculture and Ecology in Arid Regions, Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Zhibin He: China and Iran Joint Laboratory on Agriculture and Ecology in Arid Regions, Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Bing Liu: China and Iran Joint Laboratory on Agriculture and Ecology in Arid Regions, Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Dengke Ma: China and Iran Joint Laboratory on Agriculture and Ecology in Arid Regions, Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Rui Si: China and Iran Joint Laboratory on Agriculture and Ecology in Arid Regions, Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Rui Li: China and Iran Joint Laboratory on Agriculture and Ecology in Arid Regions, Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Shuai Wang: China and Iran Joint Laboratory on Agriculture and Ecology in Arid Regions, Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Arash Malekian: Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj 31585-3314, Iran

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Sweet sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) has significant cultivation potential in arid and saline–alkaline regions due to its drought and salt tolerance. This study aims to evaluate the mechanisms by which increased soil salinity and reduced irrigation affect the growth, aboveground biomass, and stem sugar content of sweet sorghum. A two-year field experiment was conducted, with four salinity levels (CK: 4.17 dS/m, S1: 5.83 dS/m, S2: 7.50 dS/m, and S3: 9.17 dS/m) and three irrigation levels (W1: 90 mm, W2: 70 mm, and W3: 50 mm). The results showed that increased salinity and reduced irrigation significantly reduced both the emergence rate and aboveground biomass, with the decreases in the emergence rate ranging from 11.0% to 36.2% and the reductions in the aboveground biomass ranging from 15.9% to 43.8%. Additionally, increased soil salinity led to reductions in stem sugar content of 6.3% (S1), 8.8% (S2), and 12.8% (S3), respectively. The results also indicated that photosynthetic efficiency, including the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), and chlorophyll content (SPAD), was significantly hindered under increased water and salt stress, with the Pn decreasing by up to 50.4% and the SPAD values decreasing by up to 36.3% under the highest stress conditions. These findings underscore the adverse impacts of increased soil salinity and reduced irrigation on sweet sorghum’s growth, photosynthetic performance, and sugar accumulation, offering critical insights for optimizing its cultivation in arid and saline environments.

Keywords: drought; salt stress; photosynthesis; sugar content; sweet sorghum; arid region (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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