Foliar application of putrescine alleviates terminal drought stress by modulating water status, membrane stability, and yield- related traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Allah Wasaya; Iqra Rehman; Atta Mohi Ud Din; Muhammad Hayder Bin Khalid; Tauqeer Ahmad Yasir; Muhammad Mansoor Javaid; Mohamed El-Hefnawy; Marian Brestic; Md Atikur Rahman; Ayman El Sabagh

doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.1000877

Foliar application of putrescine alleviates terminal drought stress by modulating water status, membrane stability, and yield- related traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Apr 21:13:1000877. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1000877. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Multan, Pakistan.
² College of Agriculture, University of Layyah, Layyah, Pakistan.
³ National Research Center of Intercropping , The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Multan, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, Rabigh College of Sciences and Arts, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Plant Physiology, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, Slovakia.
⁷ Grassland and Forage Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Cheonan, Republic of Korea.
⁸ Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr al-Sheik, Egypt.
⁹ Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Siirt University, Siirt, Türkiye.

Abstract

Drought stress is one of the major limitations to the growth and yield productivity of cereal crops. It severely impairs the early growing and grain -filling stages of wheat. Therefore, cost- effective and eco-friendly approaches for alleviating drought stress in cereal crops are in high demand. Polyamines, such as putrescine, have a significant effect on improving crop yield under drought- stress conditions. Therefore, the current study was executed with the aim of exploring the significance of putrescine in alleviating drought stress and improving yield- related traits in wheat. Two distinct wheat cultivars (Fakhar-e-Bhakkar and Anaj-2017) were treated with the foliar application of different concentrations (control, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 PPM) of putrescine (put) under two moisture conditions (well- watered and terminal drought stress). The results demonstrate that the imposition of terminal drought stress significantly reduces different physiological and yield- related traits of both wheat cultivars. The reduction of relative water content (RWC%), membrane stability index (MSI), leaf area, tillers per plant, biomass yield, number of spikelets per spike, 100-grain weight, grain yield per plant, and straw yield was greater in Anaj-2017 than in Fakhar-e-Bhakkar cultivar. The results further explain that the foliar application of increased concentrations of putrescine from 0.0 to 1.0 PPM gradually improved physiological and yield traits, whereas these traits declined with the application of putrescine at the highest dose (1.5 PPM). The exogenous application of 1.0 PPM putrescine improved the relative water content (19.76%), specific leaf area (41.47%), and leaf area ratio (35.84%) compared with the controlled treatment. A higher grain yield (28.0 g plant^-1) and 100-grain weight (3.8 g) were obtained with the foliar application of 1.0 PPM putrescine compared with controlled treatments. The findings of this study confirm the protective role of putrescine against terminal drought stress. It is therefore recommended to use putrescine at a concentration of 1.0 PPM, which could help alleviate terminal drought stress and attain better wheat yield.

Keywords: bread wheat; leaf area ratio; membrane stability index; putrescine; terminal drought; yield.

Grants and funding

This research work was funded for publication purpose by Institutional Fund Projects under grant no (IFPIP:1166-662-1443) provided the Ministry of Education and King Abdulaziz University, DSR, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.