Abstract
Climate change has increased the severity of drought episodes by further reducing precipitation in vulnerable zones. Drought induces a substantial decrease in agricultural water, reducing crop yields. Consequently, addressing water consumption can increase farmers’ profits. This work describes lab-to-field research in Zea mays, using two biostimulants: glycine betaine (GB) and L-pyroglutamic acid (PG). The biostimulant optimal dosages were selected using a hydroponic system with 20% polyethylene glycol and nursery experiments under water-deficit irrigation. The established dosages were evaluated in field trials in which irrigation was reduced by 20%. Laboratory biostimulant optimisation showed in stressed treated seedlings (GB 0.1 mM; PG 1 mM) an increased dry weight, relative growth rate and water use efficiency, reducing seedling growth loss between 65 and 85%, respectively. Field trials using a GB-optimised dosage showed an increase in plants’ growth, grain yield and flour Ca content. In addition, grain flour carbohydrate content and protein remained similar to control well-watered plants. Finally, the economic aspects of biostimulant treatments, water consumption, water sources (ground vs. desalinated) and grain biomass were addressed. Overall, GB treatment demonstrated to be a valuable tool to reduce water consumption and improve farmers’ earnings.
Highlights
Drought is considered the greatest threat to farmers growing field crops, the frequency and severity of which has increased worldwide [1]
The focus of the present study is to evaluate the suitability of using pyroglutamic acid (PG) and glycine betaine (GB) to reduce economic water deficit losses in maize
A clear dose-dependent reduction in the difference from the control plants was detected after GB treatment, the best treatment concentration being 0.1 mM, which increased tolerance to water deficit by 77%
Summary
Drought is considered the greatest threat to farmers growing field crops, the frequency and severity of which has increased worldwide [1]. Water scarcity is a critical concern in agriculture due to its direct impact on crop yield, which directly affects the worldwide economy [5]. Beyond some other disadvantages amplified by the public, environmentalists and opinion [8], water acquisition via desalination technology is twice as expensive as from groundwater [9]. This higher cost is an impediment for farmers, who resultantly cannot gain their deserved profits from the activity. Crop water management is one of the most important objectives to achieve in the present high drought-risk scenario
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