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Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed extract and potassium alleviate drought damage in tomato by improving plant water relations, photosynthetic performance, and stomatal function

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Abstract

Drought is a crucial abiotic stress having a devastating effect on crops, including tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Exogenous application of plant biostimulants and essential/beneficial nutrients is an efficient method for increasing plant tolerance and maintaining productivity under drought stress. Individual soil application of the commercial Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed extract (ASE) and potassium (K) has been widely used in alleviating drought stress in many crops. However, little information has been gained regarding the role of the integrated application of ASE and K in mitigating detrimental effects of drought stress. This study examines the combined effect of ASE and K on tomato plants on growth, fruit yield and quality, and water productivity (fruit yield [kg] per volume of water input [m3] throughout the growing season) under drought stress conditions. The commercial formulation of ASE was incorporated in five doses (0 [control], 1.25, 2.5, 3.75, and 5 mL L–1) along with a uniform dose of K (100 kg K2O ha–1) under three different soil water contents (50%, 75%, and 100% field capacity [FC]). Control plants did not receive any application of ASE or K; K applied at the same dose (100 kg K2O ha–1) without ASE was also included as a treatment. Poor vegetative growth, fruit yield, and physiological responses were observed with decreasing soil water content irrespective of ASE doses. Leaf area, root dry matter, fruit yield, water productivity, and membrane stability index were reduced from 26–55%, 42–58%, 53–72%, 27–48%, and 37–57%, respectively, at the lowest soil water content (50% FC) compared with 100% FC across ASE doses. Reducing soil water content to 50% FC triggered up to a 50% increase in fruit firmness and 33–67% increase in electrolyte leakage than those at 100% FC across ASE doses. Application of ASE in combination with K was effective at all doses with the highest dose of 5 mL L–1 producing up to 266% increased fruit yield, up to178% higher water productivity, up to 60% higher leaf relative water content, and up to 125% higher membrane stability index across all three soil water contents. The same dose reduced electrolyte leakage of plants by up to 48% across three soil water contents. The sole application of K resulted in a significant improvement in growth, fruit yield, and physiological traits of tomato plants. Fruit yield of plants grown with ASE (5 mL L–1) and K (100 kg K2O ha–1) at 50% FC was statistically similar to fruit yield of the control plants at 100% FC. Water productivity was even higher for the same treatment combinations. The same was also largely true for other growth and physiological parameters, highlighting the benefits of the integrated application of ASE and K in mitigating drought stress effects on tomato plants. An integrated program comprising ASE (5 mL L–1) and K (100 kg K2O ha–1) may constitute a potential beneficial strategy for tomato cultivation in water-scarce areas due to their synergistic response against drought stress.

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Acknowledgement

All authors are thankful to the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand for the facilities provided to conduct the research work.

Funding

The study was financially aided by the National Agricultural Technology Program (Phase-II), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Bangladesh, and the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Systems and Engineering, Department of Food, Agriculture and Bioresources, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand

    Mostak Ahmed, Hayat Ullah, Sushil Kumar Himanshu & Avishek Datta

  2. On-Farm Research Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

    Mostak Ahmed

  3. Department of Agronomy, University of Almeria, 04120, Almeria, Spain

    Pedro García-Caparrós

  4. National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Klong Luang, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand

    Rujira Tisarum & Suriyan Cha-um

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  1. Mostak Ahmed
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  2. Hayat Ullah
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  3. Sushil Kumar Himanshu
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  4. Pedro García-Caparrós
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  5. Rujira Tisarum
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  6. Suriyan Cha-um
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  7. Avishek Datta
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Contributions

Conceptualization of experiments and finalization of manuscript – MA, HU, and AD; experiment execution and data analysis – MA, RT, HU, and AD; manuscript writing, review, and editing – MA, HU, SKH, PGC, RT, SC, and AD.

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Correspondence to Avishek Datta.

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Ahmed, M., Ullah, H., Himanshu, S.K. et al. Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed extract and potassium alleviate drought damage in tomato by improving plant water relations, photosynthetic performance, and stomatal function. J Appl Phycol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-024-03266-2

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