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Improving growth, flower yield, and water relations of snapdragon (Antirhinum majus L.) plants grown under well-watered and water-stress conditions using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

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Photosynthetica

Abstract

The influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus deserticola (Trappe and John) on plant growth, nutrition, flower yield, water relations, chlorophyll (Chl) contents and water-use efficiency (WUE) of snapdragon (Antirhinum majus cv. butterfly) plants were studied in potted culture under well-watered (WW) and water-stress (WS) conditions. The imposed water stress condition significantly reduced all growth parameters, nutrient contents, flower yield, water relations, and Chl pigment content and increased the electrolyte leakage of the plants comparing to those of nonstressed plants. Regardless of the WS level, the mycorrhizal snapdragon plants had significantly higher shoot and root dry mass (DM), WUE, flower yield, nutrient (P, N, K, Mg, and Ca) and Chl contents than those nonmycorrhizal plants grown both under WW or WS conditions. Under WS conditions, the AM colonization had greatly improved the leaf water potential (Ψw), leaf relative water content (RWC) and reduced the leaf electrolyte leakage (EL) of the plants. Although the WS conditions had markedly increased the proline content of the leaves, this increase was significantly higher in nonmycorrhizal than in mycorrhizal plants. This suggests that AM colonization enhances the host plant WS tolerance. Values of benefit and potential dry matter for AM-root associations were highest when plants were stressed and reduced under WW conditions. As a result, the snapdragon plants showed a high degree of dependency on AM fungi which improve plant growth, flower yield, water relations particularly under WS conditions, and these improvements were increased as WS level had increased. This study confirms that AM colonization can mitigate the deleterious effect of water stress on growth and flower yield of the snapdragon ornamental plant.

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Abbreviations

AM:

arbuscular mycorrhizal

AMF:

arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

DM:

dry mass

DMm :

dry mass of mycorrhizal plants

DMnm :

dry mass of nonmycorrhizal plants

EC1 :

initial electrical conductivity

EC2 :

final electrical conductivity

FN:

flower number

FFM:

flower fresh mass

FDM:

flower dry mass

FM:

fresh mass

EL:

electrolyte leakage

G. :

Glomus

LA:

leaf area

LN:

leaf number

LDM:

leaf dry mass

LFM:

leaf fresh mass

LTM:

leaf turgid mass

MD:

mycorrhizal dependency

RWC:

relative water content

SM:

leaf saturated mass

non-AMF:

nonarbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Sd:

stem diameter

SH:

shoot height

SN:

spike numbers

WS:

water-stress

WW:

well-watered

WUE:

water-use efficiency

WUEm :

water-use efficiency of mycorrhizal plants

WUEnm :

water-use efficiency of nonmycorrhizal plants

Ψw :

leaf water potential

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  1. K. M. Elhindi

    Present address: Vegetable and Floriculture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant production Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    A. A. Asrar, G. M. Abdel-Fattah & K. M. Elhindi

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  1. A. A. Asrar
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  2. G. M. Abdel-Fattah
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Correspondence to G. M. Abdel-Fattah.

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Acknowledgements: Authors wish to thank College of Food and Agricultural Research Center and Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia for supporting this work.

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Asrar, A.A., Abdel-Fattah, G.M. & Elhindi, K.M. Improving growth, flower yield, and water relations of snapdragon (Antirhinum majus L.) plants grown under well-watered and water-stress conditions using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Photosynthetica 50, 305–316 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-012-0024-8

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