Impacts of Ascorbic Acid and Alpha-Tocopherol on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Grown in Water Deficit Regimes for Sustainable Production

Abstract

Drought is a major abiotic stress forced by the changing climate that affects plant production and soil structure and functions. A study was conducted to explore the impacts of ascorbic acid (AsA) and α-tocopherol (α-toc) on the agro-physiological attributes and antioxidant enzymes of chickpea grown in water deficit regions. The results of the soil analysis showed that the electrical conductivity (EC) and pH were decreased from 521 mS/m and 7.08 to 151 mS/m and 6.6 in 20-day drought regimes, respectively. Agronomic outcomes showed that exogenous application of AsA and α-toc increased the germination rate index (GRI), mean germination time (MGT), germination energy (GE), water use efficiency (WUE), germination percentage (GP), and seed vigor index (SVI). However, all the above attributes experienced a decline under 10- and 20-day drought stress. Similarly, the Chl. a, Chl. b, carotenoids, proline, protein, sugar, glycine betaine, and hydrogen peroxide contents were significantly increased. Meanwhile, malondialdehyde, glutathione reductase, and enzymatic antioxidants (APOX, SOD, and POD) increased during 10- and 20-day drought, except CAT, which decreased during drought. The exogenous fertigation of these growth regulators improved the photosynthetic pigments and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in stressed plants. The current research concludes that simultaneous dusting of AsA and α-toc could be an efficient technique to mitigate the antagonistic impacts of drought, which might be linked to the regulation of antioxidant defense systems.

Preparation of Seaweed Nanopowder Particles Using Planetary Ball Milling and Their Effects on Some Secondary Metabolites in Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Seedlings

“…Our findings are in agreement with other results [ 91 , 92 , 93 ] which reported that the simultaneous increase in the activity of these antioxidant enzymes contributes to an increase in the application of brown seaweed liquid fertilizer. Similar observations were observed in the onion plant when treated with the foliar application of exogenous antioxidant compounds [ 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 ]. The author found an increase in POX activity when the plant was treated by alpha tocopherol.…”

Drought-Induced miRNA Expression Correlated with Heavy Metal, Phenolic Acid, and Protein and Nitrogen Levels in Five Chickpea Genotypes

“…However, there have been different outcomes of protein accumulation in plants under stress conditions, and the increased expression of these proteins contributes to plant stress management. 42 In this study, a decrease in the protein concentration was recorded in plants subjected to drought stress. Increasing the total protein content as osmotic defenders is critical for plant osmoregulation under water stress circumstances.…”

“…This condition is critical for other legumes, such as the chickpea plant, as it results in less N for protein biosynthesis and decreased grain output. , Previous studies showed that some proteins increased during abiotic stress conditions such as drought, salinity, heat, and cold. − This indicates that protein is essential in the plant response to drought stress. However, there have been different outcomes of protein accumulation in plants under stress conditions, and the increased expression of these proteins contributes to plant stress management …”

Application of Potassium Humate and Salicylic Acid to Mitigate Salinity Stress of Common Bean

“…It is well known that proline accumulates in plant tissue under unfavourable environmental conditions, especially salinity and drought [ 73 ]. Proline protects proteins, membranes, and cellular structures from damage by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tissue [ 74 , 75 , 76 ]. Many previous works recorded an increase in proline content in some crops, such as tomatoes [ 4 ], broad bean [ 9 ], and green beans [ 29 ], under saline conditions.…”