Abstract
Exogenous applications of plant growth regulators (PGRs) were evaluated for their effects on growth, physiological attributes, and yield of sodicity stressed paddy during 2018 and 2019. Crop was grown in fixed lysimeters enduring sodicity stress due to long-term irrigation with two types of alkali waters having residual sodium carbonate [RSC (AW1: 5 and AW2: 10 me/L)], and latter (AW2) ameliorated to neutralize RSC equivalent to 5 me/L with either sulfuric acid or gypsum. Consequent losses in paddy yield with different alkalinity water irrigation ranged between 17–48% and 34–100% during 2018 and 2019, respectively. Each plot, receiving different alkalinity water irrigation, was further divided into four equal parts for evaluation of PGRs. PGRs included thio-urea (TU, 500 ppm), potassium nitrate (PN, 15 g/L), and combinations of TU + PN during 2018 while latter was replaced with salicylic acid (SA, 10 µM) in 2019. PGRs were sprayed four times, i.e., at tillering, maximum growth, panicle initiation to grain formation, and two days after 3rd spray. The increase in grain yield was equal to 14, 12, and 12% with TU, PN, and TU + PN during 2018 and 5–14% during 2019. PGRs triggered physiological attributes like photosynthetic rate, SPAD values, proline, membrane injury, malondialdehyde, and relative water content. Maas and Hoffman-type response functions showed that, at exchangeable sodium percentage (%) 30, the relative yields were 0.59, 0.53, and 0.49 under TU, PN, and control (No PGR), respectively. These results signify the agronomic usefulness of foliar spray of PGRs in improving paddy yield in the alkali groundwater irrigation-induced sodicity stress areas.
Graphical Abstract
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The corresponding author agrees to provide the data, supporting the findings in the manuscript, on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- RSC:
-
Residual sodium carbonate
- TEC:
-
Total electrolyte concentration
- SAR:
-
Sodium adsorption ratio
- SARe:
-
SAR of soil water saturation paste extract
- ESP:
-
Exchangeable sodium percentage
- ECe:
-
Electrical conductivity of soil water saturation paste extract
- pHs:
-
pH of soil water saturation paste
- me/L:
-
Milli equivalent per litter
- GQW:
-
Good-quality water (RSC 1.2 me/L, EC 0.52 dS/m)
- AW1 :
-
Alkali water (RSC 5.0 me/L)
- AW2 :
-
Alkali water (RSC 10.0 me/L)
- AW2 + SA:
-
AW2 ameliorated to neutralize RSC equivalent to 5 me/L with sulfuric acid
- SAW2 + Gyp:
-
AW2 ameliorated to neutralize RSC equivalent to 5 me/L with gypsum
- PGRs:
-
Plant growth regulators
- PN:
-
Potassium nitrate
- TU:
-
Thio-urea
- SA:
-
Salicylic acid
- Pn:
-
Photosynthetic rate
- MDA:
-
Malondialdehyde
- MI:
-
Membrane injury
- RWC:
-
Relative water content
References
Abdelkader AF, Hassanein RA, Ali H (2012) Studies on effects of salicylic acid and thiourea on biochemical activities and yield production in wheat (Triticum aestivum var. Gimaza 9) plants grown under drought stress. Afr J Biotechnol 11(64):12728–12739. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJB11.3134
Ahmad P, Hakeem KR, Kumar A, Ashraf M, Akram NA (2012) Salt induced changes in photosynthetic activity and oxidative defense system of three cultivars of mustard (Brassica juncea L.). Afr J Biotechnol 11(11):2694–2703. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJB11.3203
Arora NK, Datta A, Chaudhari SK, Yadav RK, Sharma PC (2018) Soil, water and plant analysis manual. ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal India, p 130
Ashraf M (1999) Interactive effects of salt and nitrogen form on growth, water relation and photosynthetic capacity of sunflower. Ann App Biol 135:509–513
Bali A, Singh A, Minhas PS, Yadav RK (2020) Response of paddy (Oryza sativa L.) to exogenous application of bio-regulators in soils irrigated with alkali groundwater. Ind J Agric Sci 90(9):1670–2
Bali A, Singh A, Minhas PS, Yadav RK (2020) Effect of plant bioregulators and their combinations on growth and yield of wheat under sodicity stress induced by alkali water irrigation. J Soil Salin Water Qual 12(1):45–49
Basak N, Barman A, Sundha P, Rai AK (2020) Recent trends in soil salinity appraisal and management. In: Rakshit A, Ghosh S, Chakraborty S, Philip V, Datta A (eds) Soil analysis: recent trends and applications. Springer, Singapore, pp 143–161. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2039-6_9
Bates LS, Waldren RP, Teare ID (1973) Rapid determination of free proline for water stress studies. Plant Soil 39:205–207. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00018060
Bhargava GP (2003) Training manual for undertaking studies on genesis of sodic/alkali soils. Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Haryana, India, p 111
Dhikwal SR, Kumawat SM, Das S, Jat BL (2013) Effect of bio-regulators application on productivity of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in arid conditions of western Rajasthan. Forage Res 38(2):106–111
Dionisio-Sese ML, Tobita S (1998) Antioxidant responses of rice seedlings to salinity stress. Plant Sci 135:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9452(98)00025-9
Dotaniya ML, Meena VD, Basak BB, Meena RS (2016) Potassium uptake by crops as well as microorganisms. In: Meena V, Maurya B, Verma J, Meena R (eds) Potassium solubilizing microorganisms for sustainable agriculture. Springer, New Delhi, pp 267–280. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2776-2_19
Fayez KA, Bazaid SA (2014) Improving drought and salinity tolerance in barley by application of salicylic acid and potassium nitrate. J Saudi Soc Agric Sci 13:45–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2013.01.001
Gimeno V, Diaz-Lopez L, Simon-Grao S, Martinez V, Martinez-Nicolas JJ, Garcia-Sanchez F (2014) Foliar potassium nitrate application improves the tolerance of Citrus macrophylla L. seedlings to drought conditions. Plant Physiol Biochem 83:308–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2014.08.008
Heath RL, Packer L (1968) Photo peroxidation in isolated chloroplasts. I. Kinetics and stoichiometry of fatty acid peroxidation. Arch Biochem Biophys 125:180–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-9861(68)90654-1
Hossain KK, Itoh RD, Yoshimura G, Tokuda G, Oku H, Cohen MF, Yamasaki H (2010) Effects of nitric oxide scavengers on thermoinhibition of seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana. Russ J Plant Physiol 57(2):222–232. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1021443710020093
Jayakannan M, Bose J, Babourina O, Rengel Z, Shabala S (2013) Salicylic acid improves salinity tolerance in Arabidopsis by restoring membrane potential and preventing salt-induced K+ loss via a GORK channel. J Exp Bot 64(8):2255–2268. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ert085
Joseph B, Jini D, Sujatha S (2010) Insight into the role of exogenous salicylic acid on plants grown under salt environment. Asian J Crop Sci 2(4):226–235. https://doi.org/10.3923/ajcs.2010.226.235
Keren R (2005) Salt-affected soils, reclamation. In: Hillel D (ed) Encyclopedia of soils in the environment. Elsevier, Oxford, pp 454–461. https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-12-348530-4/00503-8
Khan W, Prithiviraj B, Smith DL (2003) Photosynthetic responses of corn and soybean to foliar application of salicylates. J Plant Physiol 160(5):485–492. https://doi.org/10.1078/0176-1617-00865
Mann A, Kumar N, Kumar A, Lata C, Kumar A, Meena BL, Mishra D, Grover M, Gaba S, Parameswaran C, Mantri N (2021) De novo transcriptomic profiling of differentially expressed genes in grass halophyte Urochondra setulosa under high salinity. Sci Rep 11:5548. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85220-7
Minhas PS, Sharma DR (2006) Predictability of existing indicesand an alternative coefficient for estimating sodicity build-up usingadj.RNa, and permissible limits for crops grown on soils irrigatedwith waters having residual alkalinity. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 54:331–338
Minhas PS, Dubey SK, Sharma DR (2007) Effects on soil and paddy–wheat crops irrigated with waters containing residual alkalinity. Soil Use Manage 23:254–261. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2007.00090.x
Minhas PS, Qadir M, Yadav RK (2019) Groundwater irrigation induced soil sodification and response options. Agric Water Manage 215:74–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2018.12.030
Minhas PS, Bali A, Bhardwaj AK, Singh A, Yadav RK (2021) Structural stability and hydraulic characteristics of soils irrigated for two decades with waters having residual alkalinity and its neutralization with gypsum and sulfuric acid. Agric Water Manage 244:106609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106609
Mishra S, Jha AB, Dubey RS (2011) Arsenite treatment induces oxidative stress, upregulates antioxidant system, and causes phytochelatin synthesis in rice seedlings. Protoplasma 248(3):565–577. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-010-0210-0
Nathawat NS, Nair JS, Kumawat SM, Yadava NS, Singh G, Ramaswamy NK, Sahu MP, D’souza SF (2007) Effect of seed soaking with thiols on the antioxidant enzymes and photosystem activities in wheat subjected to water stress. Biol Plant 51:93–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-007-0019-7
Pandey M, Srivastava AK, D’Souza SF, Suprasanna P (2013) Thiourea, a ROS scavenger, regulates source-to-sink relationship for enhanced crop yield and oil content in Brassica juncea (L.). PloS One 8(9):73921. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0073921
Pasala RK, Khan MIR, Minhas PS, Farooq MA, Sultana R, Per TS, Deokate PP, Khan NA, Singh Y, Rane J (2016) Can plant bio-regulators minimize crop productivity losses caused by drought, salinity and heat stress? An integrated review. J Appl Bot Food Qual 89:113–125. https://doi.org/10.5073/JABFQ.2016.089.014
Pasala RK, Minhas PS, Wakchaure GC (2017) Plant bioregulators: a stress management strategy for resilient agriculture. In: Minhas PS, Rane J, Ratna-Kumar P (eds) Abiotic stress management for resilient agriculture. Springer-Nature, India, pp 235–239. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5744-1_10
Polash MAS, Sakil MA, Hossain MA (2019) Plants responses and their physiological and biochemicaldefense mechanisms against salinity: a review. Trop Plant Res 6(2):250–274. https://doi.org/10.22271/tpr.2019.v6.i2.035
Pooja D, Sharma KD (2016) Salicylic acid induced amelioration of salinity stress in mungbean. Scholar`s Press Omni Scriptum GmbH & Co. KG, Germany
Pooja, Sharma KD, Kumar A (2012) Improvement in plant water relation and photosynthetic activity of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) in response to salicylic acid under salinity stress. Ind J Plant Physiol 17(3&4):268–274
Robison MM, Shah S, Tamot B, Pauls KP, Moffatt BA, Glick BR (2001) Reduced symptoms of Verticillium wilt in transgenic tomato expressing a bacterial ACC deaminase. Mol Plant Pathol 2(3):135–145. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1364-3703.2001.00060.x
Sahu MP (2017) Thiourea: a potential bioregulator for alleviating abiotic stresses. In: Minhas PS, Rane J, Ratna-Kumar P (eds) Abiotic stress management for resilient agriculture. Springer-Nature, India, pp 261–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5744-1_11
Sakhabutdinova AR, Fatkhutdinova DR, Bezrukova MV, Shakirova FM (2003) Salicylic acid prevents the damaging action of stress factors on wheat plants. Bulg J Plant Physiol 21:314–319
Sheoran P, Basak N, Kumar A, Yadav RK, Singh R, Sharma R, Kumar S, Singh RK, Sharma PC (2021) Ameliorants and salt tolerant varieties improve rice-wheat production in soils undergoing sodification with alkali water irrigation in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. Agric Water Manage 243:106492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106492
Singh D, Chhonkar PK, Dwivedi BS (2005) Manual on soil, plant and water analysis. Westville Publishing House, New Delhi, India, p 200
Singh A, Kumar A, Yadav RK, Minhas PS, Saini U (2022) Long–term effect of alkali and partially neutralized irrigation water on soil quality. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-021-00728-1
Soni S, Kumar A, Sehrawat N, Kumar N, Kaur G, Kumar A, Mann A (2020) Variability of durum wheat genotypes in terms of physio-biochemical traits against salinity stress. Cereal Res Commun 49:45–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42976-020-00087-0
Srivastava AK, Nathawat NS, Ramaswamy NK, Sahu MP, Singh G (2008) Evidence for thiol-induced enhanced in situ translocation of 14C-sucrose from source to sink in Brassica juncea. Environ Exp Bot 64:250–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2008.03.002
Srivastava PK, Gupta M, Pandey A, Pandey V, Singh N, Tewari SK (2014) Effects of sodicity induced changes in soil physical properties on paddy root growth. Plant Soil Environ 60(4):165–169. https://doi.org/10.17221/926/2013-PSE
Srivastava AK, Ratna-kumar P, Minhas PS, Suprasanna P (2016) Plant bioregulators for sustainable agriculture; integrating redox signaling as a possible unifying mechanism. Adv Agron 137:237–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2015.12.002
Sung CH, Hong JK (2010) Sodium nitroprusside mediates seedling development and attenuation of oxidative stresses in Chinese cabbage. Plant Biotechnol Rep 4(4):243–251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-010-0138-z
Tiwari V, Mamrutha HM, Sareen S, Sheoran S, Tiwari R, Sharma P, Singh C, Singh G, Rane J (2017) Managing abiotic stresses in wheat. In: Minhas PS, Rane J, Ratna-Kumar P (eds) Abiotic stress management for resilient agriculture. Springer-Nature, India, pp 313–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5744-1_14
United States Salinity Laboratory Staff (1954) In: Richards, LA (ed) Diagnosis and improvement of saline and alkali soils. USDA Handbook No 60, Washington, DC, USA, p 160
Van Genuchten MT, Hoffman GJ (1984) Analysis of crop salt tolerance data. In: Shainberg I, Shalhevet J (eds) Soil salinity under irrigation—process and management. Vol. Ecological studies. Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp 258–271
Wakchaure GC, Minhas PS, Ratna-kumar P, Choudhary RL (2016) Optimising supplemental irrigation for wheat (Triticumaestivum L.) and the impact of plant bio-regulators in a semi-arid region of Deccan Plateau in India. Agric Water Manag 172:9–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2016.04.004
Wang LJ, Li SH (2007) The effects of salicylic acid on distribution of 14C-assimilation and photosynthesis in young grape plants under heat stress. Acta Hortic 738:779–785. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2007.738.104
Weatherly PE (1950) Studies in the water relations of the cotton plant. I. The field measurement of water deficits in leaves. New Phytol 49:81–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.1950.tb05146.x
Xiong J, Fu G, Tao L, Zhu C (2010) Roles of nitric oxide in alleviating heavy metal toxicity in plants. Arch Biochem Biophys 497(1–2):13–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2010.02.014
Yadav T, Kumar A, Yadav RK, Yadav G, Kumar R, Kushwaha M (2020) Salicylic acid and thiourea mitigate the salinity and drought stress on physiological traits governing yield in pearl millet–wheat. Saudi J Biol Sci 27(8):2010–2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.06.030
Zhao L, Zhang F, Guo J, Yang Y, Li B, Zhang L (2004) Nitric oxide functions as a signal in salt resistance in the calluses from two ecotypes of reed. Plant Physiol 134(2):849–857. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.103.030023
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the Director, ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, India to provide required facilities for conducting this research work. Indian Council of Agricultural Research provided the necessary finances under ICAR-Project (Code: 30514170004).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
PSM and RKY generated idea and designed experimental study. AK performed physiological analysis. AS and AB carried out lysimeteric work, soil analysis, and prepared first draft of manuscript. PSM and RKY revised the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript and approved the manuscript for publication.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors and funding agency do not have any conflicting academic and/or financial interests.
Additional information
Handling Author: Rajender Kumar Yadav
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Singh, A., Bali, A., Kumar, A. et al. Foliar Spraying of Potassium Nitrate, Salicylic Acid, and Thio-urea Effects on Growth, Physiological Processes, and Yield of Sodicity-Stressed Paddy (Oryza sativa L.) with Alkali Water Irrigation. J Plant Growth Regul 41, 1989–1998 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-022-10575-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-022-10575-8