Abstract
Sugarcane is one of the typical glycophyte grass plant which can poorly thrive in saline soil profiles of tropics and subtropics globally. Salt stress is a major physiological constrain drastically influencing plant growth and development. Identification of salt-tolerant cultivars can make a substantial contribution to greater productivity of sugarcane in salt stress prone areas. Based upon descriptive phenotypes 38 sugarcane cultivars were included in the present study. Cultivars evaluated in pots at formative and grand growth stages of development under 8 dSm−1 levels of salts (NaCl, Na2SO4, CaCl2·2H2O; 1:2:1 ratio) during two consecutive cropping seasons. Key morphological, physiological and biochemical traits were measured under different levels of salt stress. Recorded data was converted into relative salt tolerance indices (RSTI) for comparative study among genotypes for salt tolerance with multiple agronomic traits. Significant variations were observed between the cultivars at the both growth stages. RSTI for all the studied traits varied considerably such as; for proline contents it was calculated lowest (102.7) in Co 0239 and highest (287.2) in Co 7717 cultivar. Considering the salt tolerance indices derived from morphological, physiological, and biochemical observations indicated that 13 sugarcane cultivars were tolerant, while 13 moderately tolerant and rest 12 cultivars were not capable to grow optimally in salinity and showed susceptibility to salt stress. The tolerance rank of an individual cultivar was based on genotype rank (GR) determined with RSTI and ward’s minimum variance of studied parameters. GR ranged from 1 to 3, wherein GR 1 denotes tolerant, GR 2 moderate and GR 3 for susceptible to salt stress. To conclude, salt tolerant cultivars identified and salt tolerance-associated traits can be exploited in breeding programs to improve sugarcane production in saline areas.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrol, I.P., Yadov, J.S.P., & Massiud, F.I. (1988). Salt effected soils and their management. Soil Resours. Manage. Conservation Services. FAO Land and Water Development Division Bulletin 39.
Akhtar, S., Wahid, A., Akram, M., & Rasul, E. (2001). Effect of NaCl salinity on yield parameters of some sugarcane genotypes. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 3, 507–509.
Al-Ashkar, I., Alderfasi, A., El-Hendawy, S., Al-Suhaibani, N., El-Kafafi, S., & Seleiman, M. F. (2019). Detecting salt tolerance in doubled haploid wheat lines. Agronomy, 9(4), 211.
Ali, M. N., Ghosh, B., Gantait, S., & Chakraborty, S. (2014). Selection of rice genotypes for salinity tolerance through morpho-biochemical assessment. Rice Science, 21(5), 288–298.
Ali, Z., Salam, A., Azhar, F. M., & Khan, I. A. (2007). Genotypic variation in salinity tolerance among spring and winter wheat (Triticum eastivum L.) accessions. South African Journal of Botany, 73(1), 70–75.
Allel, D., BenAmar, A., Badri, M., & Abdelly, C. (2019). Evaluation of salinity tolerance indices in North African barley accessions at reproductive stage. Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, 55(2), 61–69.
Arnon, D. I. (1949). Copper enzyme in isolated chloroplasts polyphenol oxidase in Beta vulgaris (L.). Plant Physiology, 24(1), 1–15.
Ashraf, M., Kanwal, S., Tahir, M. A., Sarwar, A., & Ali, L. (2007). Differential salt tolerance of sugarcane genotypes. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 44(1), 85–89.
Azevedo, R. A., Carvalho, R. F., Cia, M. C., & Gratão, P. L. (2011). Sugarcane under pressure: an overview of biochemical and physiological studies of abiotic stress. Tropical Plant Biology, 4(1), 42–51.
Barrs, H. D., & Weatherley, P. E. (1962). A re-examination of the relative turgidity technique for estimating water deficits in leaves. Australian Journal of Biological Sciences, 15(3), 413–428.
Bates, L. S., Waldren, R. P., & Teare, I. D. (1973). Rapid determination of free proline for water-stress studies. Plant and Soil, 39(1), 205–207.
Beddington, J. et al. (2012). Achieving food security in the face of climate change. Final report from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change. Copenhagen, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). (Available at http://www.ccafs.cgiar.org/commission).
Burman, U., Garg, B. K., & Kathju, S. (2003). Water relations, photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism of Indian mustard (Brassica Juncea Czern & Coss) grown under salt and water stress. Journal of Plant Biology, 30(1), 55–60.
Carter, J.E., & Patterson, R.P. (1985). Use of relative water content as a selection tool for drought tolerance in soybean. In: 1985 Agronomy Abstract. ASA. Madison, WI.
Chakherchaman, S. A., Mostafaei, H., Imanparast, L., & Eivazian, M. R. (2009). Evaluation of drought tolerance in lentil advanced genotypes in Ardabil region. Iranian Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment, 7(3/4), 283–288.
Cha-um, S., Chuencharoen, S., Mongkolsiriwatana, C., Ashraf, M., & Kirdmanee, C. (2012). Screening sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) genotypes for salt tolerance using multivariate cluster analysis. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, 110(1), 23–33.
Devi, E. L., Kumar, S., Singh, T. B., Sharma, S. K., Beemrote, A., Devi, C. P., et al. (2017). Adaptation strategies and defence mechanisms of plants during environmental stress. In: Medicinal plants and environmental challenges (pp. 359–413). Cham: Springer.
Drew, M. C., Hold, P. S., & Picchioni, G. A. (1990). Inhibition by NaCl of net CO2 fixation and yield of cucumber. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 115(3), 472–477.
Errabii, T., Gandonou, C. B., Essalmani, H., Abrini, J., Idaomar, M., & Senhaji, N. S. (2007). Effects of NaCl and mannitol induced stress on sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) callus cultures. Acta Physiologia Plantarum, 29(2), 95.
Farquhar, G. D., Cernusak, L. A., & Barnes, B. (2007). Heavy water fractionation during transpiration. Plant Physiology, 143(1), 11–18.
Gomathi, R., & Thandapani, T. V. (2005). Salt stress in relation to nutrient accumulation and quality of sugarcane genotypes. Sugar Tech, 7(1), 39–47.
Hasegawa, P. M., Bressan, R. A., Zhu, J. K., & Bohnert, H. J. (2000). Plant cellular and molecular responses to high salinity. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 51(1), 463–499.
Jackson, M. L. (1973). Soil chemical analysis. Pentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd.
Katerji, N., Mastrorilli, M., Van Hoorn, J. W., Lahmer, F. Z., Hamdy, A., & Oweis, T. (2009). Durum wheat and barley productivity in saline–drought environments. European Journal of Agronomy, 31(1), 1–9.
Kausar, A., Ashraf, M. Y., Ali, I., Niaz, M., & Abbass, Q. (2012). Evaluation of sorghum varieties/lines for salt tolerance using physiological indices as screening tool. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 44(1), 47–52.
Landell, M. G., & Ribeiro, R. V. (2018). Drought tolerance of sugarcane is improved by previous exposure to water deficit. Journal Plant Physiology, 223, 9–18.
Lawlor, D. W., & Cornic, G. (2002). Photosynthetic carbon assimilation and associated metabolism in relation to water deficits in higher plants. Plant, Cell & Environment, 2, 275–294.
Long, S. P., & Bernacchi, C. J. (2003). Gas exchange measurements, what can they tell us about the underlying limitations to photosynthesis? Procedures and sources of error. Journal of Experimental Botany, 54, 2393–2401.
Lowry, O. H., Rosenbrough, N. J., Faar, A. L., & Randall, R. J. (1951). Protein measurement with Follen Phenol reagent. Journal of Biochemistry, 193, 265–275.
Mahajan, S. T., Naik, R. M., & Dalvi, U. S. (2013). Assessment of biochemical markers in differentiating sugarcane genotypes for salt tolerance. Sugar Tech, 15(2), 116–121.
Manners, J. M., & Casu, R. E. (2011). Transcriptome analysis and functional genomics of sugarcane. Tropical Plant Biology, 4(1), 9–21.
Marcos, F. C., Silveira, N. M., Mokochinski, J. B., Sawaya, A. C., Marchiori, P. E., et al. (2018). Drought tolerance of sugarcane is improved by previous exposure to water deficit. Journal of Plant Physiology, 223, 9–18.
Medeiros, C. D., Neto, J. R. F., Oliveira, M. T., Rivas, R., Pandolfi, V., Kido, E. A., Baldani, J. I., & Santos, M. G. (2014). Photosynthesis, antioxidant activities and transcriptional responses in two sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) cultivars under salt stress. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, 36(2), 447–459.
Moradi, F., & Ismail, A. M. (2007). Responses of photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence and ROS-scavenging systems to salt stress during seedling and reproductive stages in rice. Annals of Botany, 99(6), 1161–1173.
Munns, R., & James, R. A. (2003). Screening methods for salinity tolerance: A case study with tetraploid wheat. Plant and Soil, 253(1), 201–218.
Nasir, M. N., Riaz, H. Q., & Muhammad, A. (2000). Effect of salinity on emergence of sugarcane lines. Pakistan Sugar Journal, 15(2), 12–14.
Noble, C. L., & Rogers, M. E. (1992). Arguments for the use of physiological criteria for improving the salt tolerance in crops. Plant and Soil, 146(1–2), 99–107.
Patade, V. Y., Bhargava, S., & Suprasanna, P. (2011). Salt and drought tolerance of sugarcane under iso-osmotic salt and water stress: Growth, osmolytes accumulation, and antioxidant defense. Journal of Plant Interactions, 6(4), 275–282.
Plaut, Z., Meinzer, F. C., & Federman, E. (2000). Leaf development, transpiration and ion uptake and distribution in sugarcane cultivars grown under salinity. Plant and Soil, 218(1–2), 59–69.
Rozeff, N. (1998). Irrigation water salinity and macro yields of sugarcane in south Texas. Sugarcane, 2, 3–6.
Sairam, R. K. (1994). Effect of moisture stress on physiological activities of two contrasting wheat genotypes. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, 32, 584–593.
Saxena, P., Srivastava, R. P., & Sharma, M. L. (2010). Studies on salinity stress tolerance in sugarcane varieties. Sugar Tech, 12(1), 59–63.
Shannon, M. C., Grieve, C. M., & Francois, L. E. (1994). Whole plant response to salinity. In: R. E. Wilkinson (Ed.), Plant-environment interactions ( (pp. 199–244). New York, NY, USA: Marcel Dekker Inc.
Singh, R. B., Jugran, A. K., Singh, R. K., & Srivastava, R. K. (2020). Assessing genetic diversity and population structure of sugarcane cultivars, progenitor species and genera using microsatellite (SSR) markers. Gene, 753, 144800.
Singh, R. B., Singh, B., & Singh, R. K. (2019). Cross-taxon transferability of sugarcane expressed sequence tags derived microsatellite (EST-SSR) markers across the related cereal grasses. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 28(2), 176–188.
Singh, R. K., Singh, R. B., Singh, S. P., & Sharma, M. L. (2011). Identification of sugarcane microsatellites associated to sugar content in sugarcane and transferability to other cereal genomes. Euphytica, 182(3), 335.
Singh, R. K., Singh, R. B., Singh, S. P., & Sharma, M. L. (2012). Genes tagging and molecular diversity of red rot susceptible/tolerant sugarcane hybrids using c-DNA and unigene derived markers. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 28(4), 1669–1679.
Solomon, S. (2016). Sugarcane production and development of sugar industry in India. Sugar Tech, 18(6), 588–602.
Srivastava, H. S. (1974). In vitro activity of nitrate reductase in maize seedling. Indian Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 11, 230–232.
Stickler, F. C., Wearden, S., & Pauli, A. W. (1961). Leaf area determination in grain sorghum. Agronomy Journal, 53(3), 187–188.
Subbarao, M., & Shaw, M. A. E. (1985). A review of research on sugarcane soils of Jamaica. Proceedings of Meeting, West Indies Sugar Technologists’, 2, 343–355.
Tanji, K. K. (1990). Nature and extent of agricultural salinity. In K. K. Tanji (Ed.), Agricultural salinity assessment and management (pp. 1–13). American Society of Civil Engineers.
Tiku, M. F., Mohammed, H., & Gebrekidan, H. (2014). Screening of introduced sugarcane genotypes for their salinity tolerance based on yield components at Metahara Sugar Estate. Time Journal Agriculture and Veterinary Science, 2, 107–113.
Vasantha, S., Venkataramana, S., Rao, P. G., & Gomathi, R. (2010). Long term salinity effect on growth, photosynthesis and osmotic characteristics in sugarcane. Sugar Tech, 12(1), 5–8.
Wahid, A., & Rasul, E. (1997). Identification of salt tolerance traits in sugarcane lines. Field Crop Research, 54(1), 9–17.
Winicov, I., & Button, J. D. (1991). Accumulation of photosynthesis gene transcripts in response to sodium chloride by salt-tolerant alfalfa cells. Planta, 183(4), 478–483.
Yamaguchi, T., & Blumwald, E. (2005). Developing salt-tolerant crop plants: Challenges and opportunities. Trends in Plant Science, 10(12), 615–620.
Yeo, A. R., Lee, A. S., Izard, P., Boursier, P. J., & Flowers, T. J. (1991). Short-and long-term effects of salinity on leaf growth in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Journal of Experimental Botany, 42(7), 881–889.
Zheng, Y., Jia, A., Ning, T., Xu, J., Li, Z., & Jiang, G. (2008). Potassium nitrate application alleviates sodium chloride stress in winter wheat cultivars differing in salt tolerance. Journal of Plant Physiology, 165(14), 1455–1465.
Acknowledgements
Authors are grateful to the Departments of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology (SVPUA&T), Meerut, (Uttar Pradesh), India for providing essential facilities and laboratory equipments to conduct this research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
VPR and RSS conceived and designed the study. VPR: performed experiments and data analysis. RBS: wrote the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest directly or indirectly and informed consent to publish this research work.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rao, V.P., Sengar, R.S. & Singh, R.B. Identification of salt tolerant sugarcane cultivars through phenotypic, physiological and biochemical studies under abiotic stress. Plant Physiol. Rep. 26, 256–283 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-021-00581-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-021-00581-5