Priming the seeds of two mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) varieties with ascorbic acid under drought stress

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: Drought stress has posed a challenge to agriculture worldwide. For this reason, researchers are striving to improve agricultural production using various methods. In the present study, seed priming of Turkish and Iraqi mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) varieties with treatments of 50 and 100 mg/l of ascorbic acid was conducted to improve the biochemical performance and growth of this plant’s seedlings under drought-stress conditions.
Methods: Seeds of both varieties were treated with ascorbic acid for 24 hours and dried after 48 hours. Drought stress was induced using polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG 6000) at 0, -2, -4, and -8 bars. Fifteen seeds were placed in five replicates in a Petri dish and kept in a clean room for 10 days. The germination percentage, fresh weight, hypocotyl length, radicle length, leaf area, relative leaf water content, photosynthetic pigments, proline, total phenols and flavonoids, total sugars, total proteins, and antioxidant capacity were measured.
Results: The results showed that with the increase in drought stress levels, the fresh weight, hypocotyl length, radicle length, leaf area, germination percentage, and relative water content of the leaves decreased. In contrast, the levels of proline, phenols, flavonoids, sugars, proteins, and antioxidant capacity increased. The ascorbic acid treatment could not improve the growth characteristics and RWC compared to the control as the drought level increased. However, at the PEG of -2 bar, the 50 mg/l ascorbic acid did not significantly differ from the control for the hypocotyl length in both varieties. Also, in the Iraqi variety, both ascorbic acid concentrations had significantly higher seedling weight than the control at the -2 bar PEG. Furthermore, ascorbic acid alleviated the effect of drought stress in some cases concerning plant pigments. In addition, 100 mg/l of ascorbic acid was better than the 50 mg/l concentration concerning plant pigments, total sugars, total proteins, proline, total phenols and flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity in most cases. The Turkish variety performed better than the Iraqi genotype in most instances.
Conclusion: 




Objective: Drought stress has posed a challenge to agriculture worldwide. For this reason, researchers are striving to improve agricultural production using various methods. In the present study, seed priming of Turkish and Iraqi mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) varieties with treatments of 50 and 100 mg/l of ascorbic acid was conducted to improve the biochemical performance and growth of this plant’s seedlings under drought-stress conditions.
Methods: Seeds of both varieties were treated with ascorbic acid for 24 hours and dried after 48 hours. Drought stress was induced using polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG 6000) at 0, -2, -4, and -8 bars. Fifteen seeds were placed in five replicates in a Petri dish and kept in a clean room for 10 days. The germination percentage, fresh weight, hypocotyl length, radicle length, leaf area, relative leaf water content, photosynthetic pigments, proline, total phenols and flavonoids, total sugars, total proteins, and antioxidant capacity were measured.
Results: The results showed that with the increase in drought stress levels, the fresh weight, hypocotyl length, radicle length, leaf area, germination percentage, and relative water content of the leaves decreased. In contrast, the levels of proline, phenols, flavonoids, sugars, proteins, and antioxidant capacity increased. The ascorbic acid treatment could not improve the growth characteristics and RWC compared to the control as the drought level increased. However, at the PEG of -2 bar, the 50 mg/l ascorbic acid did not significantly differ from the control for the hypocotyl length in both varieties. Also, in the Iraqi variety, both ascorbic acid concentrations had significantly higher seedling weight than the control at the -2 bar PEG. Furthermore, ascorbic acid alleviated the effect of drought stress in some cases concerning plant pigments. In addition, 100 mg/l of ascorbic acid was better than the 50 mg/l concentration concerning plant pigments, total sugars, total proteins, proline, total phenols and flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity in most cases. The Turkish variety performed better than the Iraqi genotype in most instances.
Conclusion: Drought stress decreased the growth characteristics and relative water content of the leaves of the Iraqi and Turkish mung bean varieties but, increased their biochemical compounds and antioxidant capacity. Except for some cases, applying the ascorbic acid treatment was not effective in alleviating the adverse effects of drought stress concerning growth characteristics and RWC. However, in terms of plant pigments. Ascorbic acid reduced the negative effects of drought stress in some cases. Also, 100 mg/l ascorbic acid outperformed the 50 mg/l dosage concerning plant pigments, biochemical compounds, and antioxidant capacity of the mung bean seedlings.
 

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