Influence of relay intercropping of barley with chickpea on biochemical characteristics and yield under water stress

The acceleration of the climate crisis and increased demand for water have caused water stress in many agricultural lands worldwide. This issue is of utmost importance as water stress represents one of the most crucial challenges for the agricultural sector and food security, affecting the growth and yield of crops. Developing agricultural strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of water stress and improve crop stress tolerance and crop yield is therefore crucial. This review aimed to analyze the effect of agricultural practices such as elicitation and biostimulation on mitigating the effects of water stress in vegetables. This manuscript provides relevant and recent information about the studied effects on various vegetable species and their responses under water deficit and agricultural and non-agricultural strategies to mitigate water stress, highlighting the use of elicitors and biostimulants. Inclusion criteria were scientific reports and book chapters published from 2000 to 2024, including keywords as follows: water stress + vegetables, water deficit + effects, drought stress management, agricultural strategies for water stress management, eustressors + water stress, elicitors and biostimulants + water stress mitigation. According to the reported literature, it was found that the physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of vegetables to water stress depended on factors such as the severity and duration of the water deficit, the plant species, and the phenological state of the plants. Traditional agronomic strategies such as tillage, mulching, and intercropping for crop drought management were evaluated. Recently, alternative strategies for mitigating the effects of water stress have gained significant interest, such as the exogenous application of phytohormones and osmoprotectants, nutrient management, and the use of UV-B light, radiation, and acoustic waves, among others, whose eustressive effects (as biostimulants and elicitors) have been demonstrated. Among these eustressors, those of physical origin show great potential for mitigating water stress. To improve the individual potential of eustressors for water stress mitigation, we proposed the combination of practices such as tillage, mulching, application of hormones and osmoprotectants, and physical elicitors and biostimulants such as gamma rays, He-Ne laser, and UV-B. Further exploration is required to establish doses, application conditions, and effects on water stress mitigation and vegetable yield, underscoring the importance and ongoing nature of this research.

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Physiological and Transcriptome Responses of Sweet Potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] to Weak-Light Stress

Yang,

Qiao,

et al. 2024

Plants

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In the relay intercropping system of maize/sweet potato, the growth of the sweet potatoes is seriously limited by weak light stress in the early stage due to shade from maize plants. However, it is not clear how the weak light affects sweet potatoes and causes tuberous root loss. By setting two light intensity levels (weak light = 30% transmittance of normal light), this study evaluated the responses of two sweet potato cultivars with different tolerances to weak light in a field-based experiment and examined the divergence of gene expression related to light and photosynthesis in a pot-based experiment. The results showed that under weak light, the anatomic structure of functional leaves changed, and the leaf thickness decreased by 39.98% and 17.32% for Yuhongxinshu-4 and Wanshu-7, respectively. The ratio of S/R increased, and root length, root superficial area, and root volume all decreased. The photosynthetic enzyme rubisco was weakened, and the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) declined as well. The level of gene expression in Wanshu-7 was higher than that of Yuhongxinshu-4. The KEGG analysis showed that differentially expressed genes from the two cultivars under weak-light stress used the same enrichment pathway, mainly via glutathione metabolism and flavonoid biosynthesis. After full light levels were restored, the differentially expressed genes were all enriched in pathways such as photosynthesis, photosynthetic pigment synthesis, and carbon metabolism. These findings indicated that weak light changed the plant morphology, photosynthetic physiology and gene expression levels of sweet potatoes, which eventually caused losses in the tuberous root yield. The more light-sensitive cultivar (Wanshu-7) had stronger reactions to weak light. This study provides a theoretical basis and strategy for breeding low-light-tolerant varieties and improving relay intercropping production in sweet potatoes.

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Influence of relay intercropping of barley with chickpea on biochemical characteristics and yield under water stress

Cited by 3 publications

References 64 publications

Legume-cereal intercropping effects on soil carbon and microbes: A systematic review

Legume-cereal intercropping effects on soil carbon and microbes: A systematic review

Elicitors and Biostimulants to Mitigate Water Stress in Vegetables

Physiological and Transcriptome Responses of Sweet Potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] to Weak-Light Stress

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