Abstract
Global food security is being severely affected by the rapid increase in population and drastic climate change. Drought stress is the most important limiting factor for the sustainable production of several important crops, including wheat. The gradual temperature rise and reduced precipitations are likely to cause the frequent onset of droughts around the world. Therefore, alleviation of drought stress in crop plants has become an essential requirement to meet the increasing food demand. The present study explored the role of foliar application of Moringa leaf extract (MLE) in conferring drought tolerance in wheat during the anthesis stage. A wheat genotype of Indo-Gangetic Plains (HI1544) was exposed to drought stress during the anthesis of the spikes and simultaneously foliar sprayed with MLE for 10 days. The results showed the MLE treatment to improve the concentrations of macro- (K, Ca) and micronutrients (B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Si) in flag-leaves of wheat under non-stressed conditions. Application of MLE also maintained the flag-leaf nutritional contents under drought stress. The micro-nutrients, including Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn being the co-factors of the enzymes also stimulated the antioxidant enzyme activities; eventually leading to a significant reduction in the reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde accumulations under drought stress. Furthermore, micronutrients played a crucial role in osmotic adjustment and sustainable plant growth under drought stress. Overall, the study provided insights into the functional role of micronutrients in improving drought tolerance and also indicated the potential to commercialize MLE as an effective bio-stimulant for sustainable agriculture in drought-prone regions.
Highlights
Global food security is being severely affected by the rapid increase in population and drastic changes in the climate
The flag-leaf Relative water content (RWC) under Moringa leaf extract (MLE) treatment was higher than the control (85.6 and 80.9%, respectively) (Fig. 1B)
The present study explored the role of in micronutrients conferring MLE-mediated drought tolerance in wheat during the anthesis stage
Summary
Global food security is being severely affected by the rapid increase in population and drastic changes in the climate. Drought stress regularly affects major wheat cultivating regions throughout the world (Zhang et al 2018). Most of the wheat genotypes cultivated in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) are developed for the irrigated cropping systems are extremely susceptible to drought (Zhang et al 2017). High temperature-induced severe increase in soil moisture evaporation is the primary reason for drought stress in this region. Continuous increase in average atmospheric temperature and asymmetric precipitation is predicted to intensify the incidence of drought around the world causing about 9–12% increase in yield loss of wheat by the end of 21st century (IPCC 2014; Leng and Hall 2019). Amelioration of drought stress has become an essential requirement to encounter the global food security
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