Wild Vicia Species Possess a Drought Tolerance System for Faba Bean Improvement

Abstract

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.), a drought-sensitive crop, is drastically affected by drought stresses compromising its growth and yield. However, wild relatives of faba bean are considered a reservoir of potential genetic resources for tolerance against abiotic stresses. This study was conducted to characterize wild relatives of faba bean for identification of a specific tolerance system required for its improvement against drought stress. The study focused on physiological, biochemical, and anatomical responses of wild Vicia species under drought stress conditions. The experiment was carried out under various levels of drought stress imposed through different field capacities (FC) which included 80% FC ie (well-watered condition), 55% FC (moderate stress), and 30% FC (severe stress). When compared to plants grown in a control environment, drought stress significantly reduced the studied physiological attributes including soluble sugars (21.3% and 15.8%), protein contents (14.7 and 14.6%), and chlorophyll (8.4 and 28.6%) under moderate (55% FC) and severe drought stress (30% FC), respectively. However, proline content increased by 20.5% and 27.6%, peroxidase activity by 48.5% and 57.1%, and superoxide dismutase activity by 72.6% and 64.8% under moderate and severe stress, respectively. The studied anatomical attributes were also affected under drought stress treatments, including diameter of stem xylem vessels (9.1% and 13.7%), leaf lower epidermal thickness (8.05% and 13.34%), and leaf phloem width (5.3% and 10.1%) under moderate and severe stress, respectively. Wild Vicia spp. showed better tolerance to water-deficit conditions as compared to cultivated Vicia L. The observed potential diversity for drought tolerance in wild Vicia spp. may assist in improvement of faba bean and may also help in understanding the mechanisms of adaptations in drought-prone environments.

Molecular and Physiological Evaluation of Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Genotypes for Stay Green under Drought Stress

“…Increased accumulation of proline is indicative of plant adaptive responses to water stress environments and its increased accumulation is considered beneficial as an osmoticum and desiccation protectant [ 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ]. We observed an increased proline content with an increase in the severity of drought stress.…”

The Impact of Trichoderma harzianum Together with Copper and Boron on Wheat Yield

“…Bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is an annual grass and essential cereal crop, resulting from a cross between Triticum turgidum L. and Aegilops tauschii . − It is an important food and essential source of nutrition, used as a staple food for humans, providing approximately 20% of the food calories and 55% carbohydrates, with an annual consumption of about 35% around the globe. − The requirements of wheat will be increased by 50% at the end of 2050 because of rapidly growing world population. , Changing climate and different environmental stresses have severely affected food production worldwide. − Like other plants, wheat growth is harshly affected by various biotic and abiotic factors, hence, limiting its yield and quality. − Higher demand of food and fiber is the major cause of using synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers for increasing yield . Further, wheat yield can be enhanced by maximum productivity, not by increasing the agricultural land, and accordingly, nutrient management is believed to be among the important factors for wheat improvement. − …”

Comparative Effects of Hydropriming and Iron Priming on Germination and Seedling Morphophysiological Attributes of Stay-Green Wheat

“…Different approaches that are currently in practice for improving the grain quality include reducing time from seed sowing to seedling emergence; minimizing the deleterious effects of different biotic and abiotic stresses at the germination stage, and different seed treatments such as pelleting, coating of seeds, or seed priming. ,− Seed priming treatment has been proven to have several benefits such as seed dormancy breakdown, rapid and uniform emergence, deeper roots, enhanced root growth, stand establishment, better competition with weeds, formation of sexual organs, early flowering, resistance to different climatic conditions, and better grain production in wheat. − It is considered an innovative and user-friendly approach for wheat biofortification, which increases iron acquisition and accumulation in grains. In the seed priming technique, seeds are soaked in solutions of low water potential to enhance pregerminative metabolic activities. − It may be categorized as hydro-, osmo-, thermo-, halo-, and matrix priming .…”