Abstract
The objective of current study is to evaluate the effectiveness of slag as a biostimulant to enhance drought tolerance of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) plants. A greenhouse study was performed to address this issue. Two slag doses: 10 g/kg (D1) and 20 g/kg (D2) were evaluated under two moisture regimes (75 and 25% field capacity) for drought stress mitigation using a substrate with the following characteristics: pH: 8.10, organic matter: 0.86%, and available phosphorus: 7.96 mg kg−1. The morpho-physiological and the biochemical parameters were measured. Exposure to drought decreased biomass, stomatal conductance, efficiency of photosystem II, protein content and increased total soluble sugars, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. Soil amendment with 10 g/kg (D1) of slag, led to a significant improvement in biomass with an increase of shoot and spike heights (43% and 13% respectively). Furthermore, an increase of root dry weight (220%), stomatal conductance (20%), soluble sugars (13%) and protein content (225%) under drought conditions (25% FC) as compared to the negative control plants (0 g/kg of slag), indicating a positive influence on durum wheat plants. On the contrary, soil enrichment with 20 g/kg of slag (D2) resulted in the reduction of plant biomass (a reduction of 20% and 40% of shoot and dry weights, respectively) and presented the highest levels of H2O2 and MDA contents compared to the control and treatment D1 after three months of culture under water deficit. This study supports the usage of slag at a lower dose in durum wheat production as it could reduce drought stress.
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Acknowledgements
The present work was carried out in the framework of collaboration between the Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University Marrakech, Morocco and the Concamine company Berrechid, Morocco established on May 28, 2022 to valorize the slag on a large scale.
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A. Meddich, A. Sadouki, N.E.E. Yallouli, H. Chagiri, H. Khalisse and B. Oudra declare that they have no competing interests.
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Meddich, A., Sadouki, A., Yallouli, N.E.E. et al. Performance of Slag-Based Fertilizers in Improving Durum Wheat Tolerance to Water Deficit. Gesunde Pflanzen 75, 2541–2551 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-023-00874-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-023-00874-9