Combined Use of Endophytic Bacteria and Pre-Sowing Treatment of Thiamine Mitigates the Adverse Effects of Drought Stress in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Cultivars

Abstract

On a global scale, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a widely cultivated crop among all cereals. Increasing pollution, population expansion, socio-economic development, ecological and industrial policies have induced changes in overall climatic attributes. The impact of these factors on agriculture dynamics has led to various biotic and abiotic stresses, i.e., significant decline in rainfall, directly affect sustainable agriculture. Increasing abiotic stresses have a direct negative effect on worldwide crop production. More promising and improved stress-tolerant strategies that can help to feed the increasing global population are required. A laboratory experiment was performed on two of the latest wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes (Akbar 2019 and Anaj 2017) from Punjab Pakistan, to determine the influence of seed priming with thiamine (vitamin B1) along with soil inoculation of Endophytic bacterial strains to mitigate the effects of drought stress at different degrees. Results revealed that thiamine helped in the remote germination; seeds of Anaj 2017 germinated within 16 hours while Akbar 2019 germinated after one day. Overall growth parameters of Anaj 2017 were negatively affected even under higher levels of drought stress, while Akbar 2019 proved to be a susceptible cultivar. A significant increase in RFW (54%), SFW (85%), RDW (69%), SDW (67%) and TChl (136%) validated the effectiveness of D-T3 compared to C-T0 in drought stress. Significant decrease in MDA, EL and H2O2 signified the imperative function of D-T3 over C-T0 under drought stress. In conclusion and recommendation, we declare that farmers can get better wheat growth under drought stress by application of D-T3 over C-T0.

Application of Zinc Fertilizer and Mycorrhizal Inoculation on Physio-Biochemical Parameters of Wheat Grown under Water-Stressed Environment

“…Our results are in line with this evidence. In the present research, MDA contents were higher under osmotic stress and H 2 O 2 produced in low amounts in Zn-and AM-treated plants in drought stress and well-watered groups [34].…”

“…The main objective of the present study was to analyze the role of Zinc (Zn) fertilizer and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM) for improving wheat growth during drought stress. Water deficiency badly affects wheat yield worldwide [34]. Bio-fertilizers are a consistent and cost-effective approach for sustainable agriculture and for minimizing environmental pollution [35].…”

“…Zn1 + AM and Zn2 + AM were the most effective amendments in mitigating the lethal effects of drought stress. A study conducted on wheat under drought stress conditions concluded that mycorrhizal inoculation increased antioxidant enzyme activities such as catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) in comparison with non-inoculated control plants [34]. Various metabolites and osmolytes, i.e., soluble sugars, soluble proteins, and proline, played vital roles in plant osmotic adjustments.…”

Application of sewage sludge combined with thiourea improves the growth and yield attributes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes under arsenic-contaminated soil

“…A considerable agricultural land area is affected by arsenic contamination globally. Thiourea is well known for ameliorating metal stress in wheat plants and is economically a better choice among compatible compounds [ 25 ].…”

“…Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important crops in the world. Due to increasing metal toxicity, its net production is badly affected [ 25 ]. Metal toxicity resulted in a noticeable reduction in annual wheat production worldwide.…”