Environmental stresses may alter the nutritional profile and economic value of crops. Chemical fertilizers and phytohormones are major sources which can enhance the canola production under stressful conditions. Physio-biochemical responses of canola altered remarkably with the use of nitrogen/phosphorus/potassium (N/P/K) fertilizers and plant growth regulators (PGRs) under drought stress. The major aim of current study was to evaluate nutritional quality and physio-biochemical modulation in canola (Brassica napus L.) from early growth to seed stage with NPK and PGRs in different water regimes. To monitor biochemical and physiological processes in canola, two season field experiment was conducted as spilt plot under randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four treatments (Control, Chemical fertilizers [N (90 kg/ha), P and K (45 kg ha-1)], PGRs; indole acetic acid (IAA) 15g ha-1, gibberellic acid (GA3) 15g ha-1 and the combination of NPK and PGRs] under different irrigations regimes (60, 100, 120, 150 mm evaporations). Water stress enhanced peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), soluble sugar, malondialdehyde (MDA), proline contents as well as leaf temperature while substantially reduced leaf water contents (21%), stomatal conductance (50%), chlorophyll contents (10–67%), membrane stability index (24%) and grain yield (30%) of canola. However, the combined application of NPK and PGR further increased the enzymatic antioxidant pool, soluble sugars, along with recovery of leaf water contents, chlorophyll contents, stomatal conductance and membrane stability index but decreased the proline contents and leaf temperature at different rate of evaporation. There is positive interaction of applied elicitors to the water stress in canola except leaf area. The outcomes depicted that the combination of NPK with PGRs improved the various morpho-physiological as well as biochemical parameters and reduced the pressure of chemical fertilizers cost about 60%. It had also reduced the deleterious effect of water limitation on the physiology and grain yield and oil contents of canola in field experiments.
Banana is an important crop of Pakistan, grown on large scale in Sindh province of the country. This study was conducted to introduce genetic variability in banana variety basrai and to optimize the micropropagation protocol for the same genotype. Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with various concentrations of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), N6benzyl aminopurine (BAP), indole-3-butyric-acid (IBA) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) were used. The genotypes were also radiated via. three different doses of gamma radiation i.e. 10, 20 and 30 Gy. Excellent shoot growth and elongation parameters viz. number of shoots developed bottle -1 (25.77) and shoot length (17.44 cm) were recorded in plantlets cultured on MS media supplemented with 4.00 mg l -1 IAA + 6.00 mg l -1 IBA + 4.00 mg l -1 NAA and 40 g l -1 sucrose; and radiated using 20 Gy dose of gamma radiation. The same combination of culture media and gamma rays' treatment also showed least days to shoot initiation. Minimum observations for the growth parameters were observed in plantlets radiated with 30 Gy of gamma radiation and grown in MS media containing 2.00 mg l -1 IAA + 2.00 mg l -1 BAP + 2.00 mg l -1 NAA and 40 g l -1 sucrose. Regarding treatments of gamma radiation used in the study, lower doses like 10 and 20 Gy showed stimulatory effects on plantlets' growth and development while 30 Gy was lethal. This study is significant for banana breeding as apposite induction of genetic variation through mutagenesis and optimal maintenance in the tissue culture will help in developing elite genotypes having near-commercial attributes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.