Abstract
Background and objectiveCertain substances with some physical and chemical activities can be used to decrease the transpiration rate and alleviate plant water stress through rising leaf resistance to the diffusion of water vapor. Wheat plant is considered as one of the most important and economic winter plants. So, the objective of this work is to evaluate the response of wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar Gimeza 7 to various concentrations of foliar application of anti-transpirant substances as kaolin (3 and 6%), potassium sulfate (100 and 200 mg/l).Materials and methodsTwo pot experiments were conducted during 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 successive growing winter seasons under greenhouse conditions at the Experimental Station, in the National Research Centre, Egypt. The plants were exposed to various levels of water holding capacity (WHC) 80, 60, and 40%.ResultsWater stress led to a decrease in growth parameters, yield components, photosynthetic pigments, and carbohydrate contents as compared to 80% of WHC. Meanwhile, water stress caused significant increases in some compatible solute (total soluble sugar, free amino acids, and proline) and some antioxidant enzymes activities. Foliar treatments of wheat plants with kaolin or K2SO4 led to an increase in growth parameters, yield components, photosynthetic pigments, and carbohydrate constituents. More accumulation of the organic solutes of leaves (total soluble sugar and free amino acids), antioxidant enzyme activities, and some minerals (N, P, K, and Ca) was observed. Data also illustrated that the nutritional values of the grain yield of wheat were also improved when sprayed with kaolin and K2SO4.ConclusionThe used substances are safe for the environment, and for the plant, potassium is an essential nutrient and its ability controls several biochemical and physiological responses in plants. Kaolin also can ameliorate plant physiology and consequently lead to higher yield production.
Highlights
Water deficit is one of the main abiotic stresses, restricting the growth and productivity of plants and causes alternations in plant physiology and biochemistry (Bakry et al 2016)
We aim to focus on the effect of kaolin as physical anti-transpirant and K2SO4 as chemical anti-transpirant at different water regimes on growth and yield components of wheat plants and to improve the efficiency of wheat plants to resist water stress
Exposure of plants to 60% and 40% of water holding capacity (WHC) in the soil induced significant decrease in the morphological parameters when compared to a plant grown under 80% WHC
Summary
Water deficit is one of the main abiotic stresses, restricting the growth and productivity of plants and causes alternations in plant physiology and biochemistry (Bakry et al 2016). It affects plant growth and development; decreases water potential, cell division, net photosynthesis, and protein synthesis; changes hormonal balance of the main plant tissue (Fathi and Tari 2016); and leads to a loss in yield by reducing total biomass, relative water content, and chlorophyll content (Bakry et al 2016). Certain chemicals for several biological activities can be used to decrease the transpiration rate and alleviate plant water stress through rising leaf resistance to diffusion of water vapor. Certain substances with some physical and chemical activities can be used to decrease the transpiration rate and alleviate plant water stress through rising leaf resistance to the diffusion of water vapor. The objective of this work is to evaluate the response of wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar Gimeza 7 to various concentrations of foliar application of anti-transpirant substances as kaolin (3 and 6%), potassium sulfate (100 and 200 mg/l)
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