Physiological and Yield Responses of Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) to Drought Stress in Managed and Open Field Environments

Abstract

Water scarcity is threatening the sustainability of global food grain production systems. Devising management strategies and identification of crop species and genotypes are direly required to meet the global food demands with limited supply. This study, consisted of two independent experiments, was conducted to compare faba bean (Vicia faba L.) genotypes Giza Blanka, Goff‐1, Hassawi‐1, Hassawi‐2 and Gazira‐2 in terms of physiological attributes and yield under water‐limited environments. In first experiment, conducted in a growth chamber, osmotic stress of −0.78, −0.96, −1.19 and −1.65 MPa was induced using polyethylene glycol for 4 weeks. In second experiment, conducted in open field for two consecutive growing seasons, water deficit treatments were applied 3 weeks after sowing. In this experiment, irrigation was applied when an amount of evaporated water from the ‘class A pan’ evaporation reached 50 mm (well watered), 100 mm (moderate drought) and 150 mm (severe drought). Water deficit, applied in terms of osmotic stress or drought, reduced the root and shoot length, related leaf water contents, total chlorophyll contents and efficiency of photosystem‐II, plant height, grain yield and related attributes in faba bean; increased the leaf free proline, leaf soluble proteins and malondialdehyde contents, and triggered the maturity in tested faba bean genotypes. However, substantial genetic variation was observed in the tested genotypes in this regard. For instance, root length of genotypes Giza Blanka and Hassawi‐2 decreased gradually, whereas it was increased in genotypes Goff‐1, Hassawi‐1 and Gazira‐2 with increase in the level of osmotic stress. Genotypes Gazira‐2 and Hassawi‐2 had better relative leaf water contents, leaf free proline and soluble proteins under water deficit conditions; however, these were minimum in genotype Giza Blanka. Better accumulation of leaf free proline, soluble proteins, and maintenance of chlorophyll contents, tissue water, efficiency of photosystem‐II and grain weight in water‐limited conditions helped some genotypes like Hassawi‐2 to yield better. Future breeding programs for developing new faba bean genotypes for water‐limited environments may consider these traits.

Comparative Nutritional Profiles of Various Faba Bean and Chickpea Genotypes

“…These genotypes were grown at Dirab Experimental Research Station, Riyadh (24°43'34"N, 46°37'15"E), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in randomized complete block design with three replications for field evaluation. Crop husbandry practices, recommended for the region, were followed during the crop growing season (Ammar et al, 2015). Harvested grains from these genotypes were used for appraisal of nutritional value and chemical composition.…”

Developmental and biochemical analyses of in vitro drought stress response in ornamental European Bluestar (Amsonia orientalis Decne.)

“…All variants of the medium were supplemented with 30 g dm -3 sucrose and 7 g dm -3 of plant agar, and the pH of culture media was adjusted to 5.7 prior to autoclaving. Relative water contents of regenerated plants were determined according to Ammar et al (2014).…”

Relative leaf expansion rate and other leaf-related indicators for detection of drought stress in chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).

“…However, different plants might have different mechanisms in coping drought stress, including decline of stomatal conductance, increase in abscisic acid production (Sankar et al, 2016), and enhancement of prolin accumulation (Ammar et al, 2015). Abiotic stress factor related to water availability most often caused abnormality of plant growth and, furthermore, affected yield (Singh and Bainsla, 2014).…”