Abstract
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is considered as a source of antioxidants with anticancer and antiviral activities. Optimal nutrition, especially the use of various forms of minerals can alleviate drought stress as a major challenge for pomegranate production. In this study, the effect of foliar application of various forms of zinc [zinc sulfate (5 and 10 mg L−1 of ZnSO4) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (5 and 10 mg L−1 of ZnO-NPs) and distilled water as a control] on some physiological and biochemical attributes of pomegranate plants under various levels of drought stress (100, 60 and 30% field capacity, FC) was assessed. SPAD, relative water content (RWC), content of chlorophyll a and b (Chl a and b) decreased by 16, 7, 46, and 14% under severe stress, respectively. In contrast, ZnSO4 (10 mg L−1) significantly increased the amount of SPAD, RWC and total Chl compared to the control. In addition, ZnSO4 (10 mg L−1) reduced the content of electrolyte leakage (23%) and malondialdehyde (13%) while ZnO-NPs (5 mg L−1) reduced the amount of hydrogen peroxide (9%) under severe drought. Foliar application of ZnSO4 (10 mg L−1) under severe drought stress also led to an increase in antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (1%), proline (27%), and carbohydrates (12%). Polyphenol oxidase (7%) also increased with the use of ZnO-NPs (5 mg L−1). It seems that the foliar application of Zn, especially ZnSO4 (10 mg L−1) can be a useful solution to improve the tolerance of pomegranate plants to drought stress, especially in areas with zinc deficiency.
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The datasets used or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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This study was supported by University of Maragheh.
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Seyed Morteza Zahedi: Conceptualization, Investigation and Writing–original draft. Taher Harfi: Investigation and Methodology. Mina Marjani: Investigation and Writing–original draft. Mojtaba Amini: Methodology and Writing–original draft. Seyed Morteza Zahedi, Saadat Sarikhani and Marek Vaculík: Validation and Writing-Reviewing and Editing. All authors have reviewed and approved the revised manuscript.
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Zahedi, S.M., Harfi, T., Marjani, M. et al. Various Forms of Foliar Applied Zinc Improve Drought Acclimation in Pomegranate: Response of Photosynthesis, Osmoregulation and Antioxidant Defense. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-024-01694-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-024-01694-0