Rhizobacteria Inoculation and Caffeic Acid Alleviated Drought Stress in Lentil Plants

Muhammad Zafar-ul-Hye, Muhammad Naeem Akbar, Yasir Iftikhar, Mazhar Abbas, Atiqa Zahid, Shah Fahad, Rahul Datta, Muqarrab Ali, Abdallah M. Elgorban, Mohammad Javed Ansari and Subhan Danish
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Muhammad Zafar-ul-Hye: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Muhammad Naeem Akbar: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Yasir Iftikhar: Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Mazhar Abbas: Department of Agriculture and Agribusiness Management, Faculty of Science, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
Atiqa Zahid: Department of Mathematics & Statistics, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Murree Road, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
Shah Fahad: Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresource, College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Rahul Datta: Department of Geology and Pedology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska1, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic
Muqarrab Ali: Department of Agronomy, MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan 60000, Pakistan
Abdallah M. Elgorban: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Javed Ansari: Department of Botany, Hindu College Moradabad, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand Univesity Bareilly, Moradabad 244001, India
Subhan Danish: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 17, 1-14

Abstract: Lentil ( Lens culinaris Medik) is an important component of the human diet due to its high mineral and protein contents. Abiotic stresses, i.e., drought, decreases plant growth and yield. Drought causes the synthesis of reactive oxygen species, which decrease a plant’s starch contents and growth. However, ACC-deaminase (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase) producing rhizobacteria can alleviate drought stress by decreasing ethylene levels. On the other hand, caffeic acid (CA) can also positively affect cell expansion and turgor pressure maintenance under drought stress. Therefore, the current study was planned with an aim to assess the effect of CA (0, 20, 50 and 100 ppm) and ACC-deaminase rhizobacteria ( Lysinibacillus fusiform , Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ) on lentils under drought stress. The combined application of CA and ACC-deaminase containing rhizobacteria significantly improved plant height (55%), number of pods per plant (51%), 1000-grain weight (45%), nitrogen concentration (56%), phosphorus concentration (19%), potassium concentration (21%), chlorophyll (54%), relative water contents RWC (60%) and protein contents (55%). A significant decrease in electrolyte leakage (30%), proline contents (44%), and hydrogen peroxide contents (54%), along with an improvement in cell membrane stability (34% over control) validated the combined use of CA and rhizobacteria. In conclusion, co-application of CA (20 ppm) and ACC-deaminase producing rhizobacteria can significantly improve plant growth and yield for farmers under drought stress. More investigations are suggested at the field level to select the best rhizobacteria and CA level for lentils under drought.

Keywords: abiotic stress; plant growth; legume; caffeic acid (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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