Effect of Drought Stress on Seed Germination, Seedling Growth and Antioxidant Enzymatic Activity of Moringa oleifera Lam. Growing at Different Burial Depths | ||
| Mansoura Journal of Biology | ||
| Volume 60, Issue 7, December 2022, Pages 33-45 PDF (1.21 M) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/mjb.2022.459790 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Abdullah Aldubise* ; Abdulaziz A. Alqarawi; Jahangir Ahmad Malik | ||
| Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Food & Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box.2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Drought is the most significant environmental stress caused by changes in temperature, light intensity, rainfall levels, and moisture levels along the soil depth. Drought stress and seed burial depth have a negative influence on the morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics of plants, which change germination patterns. An experiment was conducted to ascertain the effects of drought stress at different burial depths on seed germination, seedling growth, and physiological parameters of Moringa oleifera. The activity of antioxidant enzymes was also evaluated to ascertain how plants might respond to enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) oxidation. For this reason, the M. oleifera seeds were treated with four levels of drought (100% filed capacity (FC), 75% FC, 50% FC, and 25% FC) and sown at three burial depths (2.5 cm, 5 cm, and 7.5 cm). The findings of this study showed that all germination indices and survival rates of M. oleifera seeds, except for 75% FC, were negatively impacted by drought and burial depth. The seeds at 75% FC displayed the highest germination parameters and survival rate. Similar effects were observed in the morphological traits and the photosynthetic pigment accumulation. However, phenol and proline contents showed an abrupt increase with the increase in drought stress at all the burial depths. The highest phenol and proline build-up was recorded in the seedlings growing at 2.5 cm burial depth and exposed to 25% FC stress. Moreover, the seedlings under drought stress at different burial depths showed increased ROS oxidative damage. The highest MDA and H2O2 contents were recorded in the seedlings exposed to the highest drought level and growing at a depth of 7.5 cm. However, the seedlings showed increased oxidative enzyme activity in response to the ROS-induced oxidative damage in the plants under drought stress. The highest of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), glutathione reductase (GR), and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) activities were recorded in the plants of 75% FC. These findings suggest that M. oleifera seeds can adapt to different environmental circumstances. The key explanations for its restoration under adverse environmental conditions must be the soil's field capacity and the depths at which M. oleifera seeds must be sown for successful germination and its emergence and establishment on the surface. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Moringa oleifera; Soil dry; burial depth; pigments; growth parameters; antioxidant enzyme activity | ||
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