Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses that affect plant growth and reduce agricultural productivity.Use of algal extract as a biostimulant is gaining increased attention from researchers.This study aimed to inv...Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses that affect plant growth and reduce agricultural productivity.Use of algal extract as a biostimulant is gaining increased attention from researchers.This study aimed to investigate the potential of Ulva prolifera extract(UE)as a biostimulant when enzymatically extracted under conditions of water deficit.UE treatments(0.02%,0.06%,and 0.1%)significantly improved the shoot length,root length,and dry weight of roots after 120 h of drought stress relative to that in treatment with the negative control.An increase in catalase(CAT)and peroxidase(POD)activity was also observed that resulted in improved antioxidant capacity.Application of 0.1%UE reduced the malondialdehyde(MDA)content by 30.06%compared with that in the negative control.In addition,the soluble sugar and protein content in wheat treated with 0.1%UE was increased by 23.10%and 93.51%,respectively,resulting in adjustment of the osmotic pressure.Results suggest that UE could significantly enhance the drought tolerance of wheat.This study provides a basis for increasing the value of UE as a biostimulant.展开更多
基金The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Open Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Seaweed Fertilizers(MAKLSF1803)the Key Project of New&Old Energy Transformation in Shandong Province.
文摘Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses that affect plant growth and reduce agricultural productivity.Use of algal extract as a biostimulant is gaining increased attention from researchers.This study aimed to investigate the potential of Ulva prolifera extract(UE)as a biostimulant when enzymatically extracted under conditions of water deficit.UE treatments(0.02%,0.06%,and 0.1%)significantly improved the shoot length,root length,and dry weight of roots after 120 h of drought stress relative to that in treatment with the negative control.An increase in catalase(CAT)and peroxidase(POD)activity was also observed that resulted in improved antioxidant capacity.Application of 0.1%UE reduced the malondialdehyde(MDA)content by 30.06%compared with that in the negative control.In addition,the soluble sugar and protein content in wheat treated with 0.1%UE was increased by 23.10%and 93.51%,respectively,resulting in adjustment of the osmotic pressure.Results suggest that UE could significantly enhance the drought tolerance of wheat.This study provides a basis for increasing the value of UE as a biostimulant.