Brassinolide and Zinc Effect on Physio-Biochemistry of Garden Pea (Pisum sativum L.) under Water Deficit Condition

Abstract

Background- This experiment was carried out to examine the impact of exogenously applied concentrations of epi-brassinolide (e-BL) and zinc (Zn) on the physio-biochemical processes that occur in garden pea (Pisum sativum L.), when the plant is subjected to water-deficit stress. Methods- A polyhouse experiment was performed using a completely randomized design with three replicates by e-BL pre-treating the seeds of garden pea genotype HUP-2 with concentrations of 0.01 and 0.05 mM and/or Zn before subjecting the plants to an induced water deficit stress at various stages of growth and development. Results- Garden pea seeds that had been pre-treated with e-BL, and then supplied with Zn micronutrients showed a favorable reaction against a water shortage in terms of membrane stability and a variety of enzymatic activity. It is possible for e-BL and Zn to mitigate the impact of post-anthesis water shortage, which is more likely to result in yield reduction. Both seed pre-treatment with e-BL and basal administration of Zn have shown to be effective in protecting the HUP-2 genotype of Garden pea from the negative effects of water deficiency.