Abstract
Drought and low amounts of mineral nutrients in the soil are the two leading global constraints in arid and semiarid regions. Their detrimental effects on soils and crops can be alleviated by applying controlled release and biodegradable fertilizers to better and sustain the crops. On a global scale, spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) is an essential leafy green vegetable that is biologically considered a reliable source of essential nutrients and minerals for human health. A comprehensive approach is needed to manage water stress to mitigate the impacts of stress-caused damage and to examine this for better and increased plant production. An experiment was conducted using potassium-nitrate-containing chitosan/montmorillonite microparticles (150 mg) under mild and severe drought stress (MDS: 50% and SDS: 35% FC, respectively). The treatments include control (no KNO3 and 70% FC as normal irrigation (NI)), KNO3 + NI, 50% FC as mild drought stress (MDS), KNO3 + MDS, 35% FC as severe drought stress (SDS) and KNO3 + SDS. Results revealed that drought stress decreased all studied physiological parameters and increased oxidative stress indicators in spinach. Applying KN significantly increased root (122%) and shoot length (4%), shoot fresh weight (32%) and shoot dry weight (71%), chlorophyll a (88%), carotenoids (39%), total soluble proteins (50%), soluble sugars (51%), potassium (80%), and phosphorous (32%) concentrations over No KN at severe drought. While stress indicators, like glycine betaine, malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, electrolyte leakage, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and ascorbic acid levels, were increased in stress. Treatment KN was proved efficient and effective in improving spinach physiological status in both MDS and SDS.
Highlights
Scarcity of good quality water for irrigation creates the majority of lethal stress among all abiotic stresses, called drought [1,2,3,4,5]
Increasing drought stress caused a significant reduction in root and shoot length, fresh weight, and dry weight in spinach
No significant change was observed in shoot dry weight (Figure 1D) among KN and no KN under normal irrigation (NI)
Summary
Scarcity of good quality water for irrigation creates the majority of lethal stress among all abiotic stresses (i.e., heavy metals, nutrients), called drought [1,2,3,4,5]. Drought stress play a notorious role in decreasing crops productivity because water shares 80–95% of the fresh biomass of any plant [6]. It is a documented fact that annually, 50% yield of crops is decreased due to water scarcity This drought-induced yield reduction is being reported in many food crops, including spinach [7]. It has been observed that drought stress can reduce 65% biomass of spinach by decreasing fresh weight [8]. This drastic reduction in fresh biomass is mainly due to the disruption of plant’s photosynthetic capacity by limiting its physiological and biochemical attributes under the water deficit environment [6,9]
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