Document Type : Research paper

Author

Assistant professor at Date Palm and Tropical Fruits Research Center, Horticultural Sciences Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahwaz, Iran

Abstract

 Irrigation is an inevitable part of agriculture which determines crop yield and thus food security. In modern era of agriculture, crop yield is determined on the basis of crop production per unit of water-use instead of crop production per land unit area. Deficit irrigation is introduced as a strategy for controlling water resources that leads to water resource preservation. Date palm requires regular irrigation after plantation at the primary growth stages. In the present study, the effect of applying superabsorbent polymers on required water for irrigation of date palm seedlings has been evaluated during 2011-2012. Treatments were 60%, 80% and 100% ETc irrigation and 0, 40, 80 and 120 g superabsorbents for each seedling. The experiment was conducted in RCBD and split-split plot experimental designs. Water requirement was calculated based on FAO pan method. Results showed that, percentage of establishment reduced significantly in all irrigation regimes including normal irrigation, mid stress, and severe stress. Moreover, using superabsorbents resulted in an increase in SOD activity under 80% irrigation deficit in comparison to full irrigation. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that superabsorbents significantly affected uptake of mineral nutrients and consequently resulted in a raise in seedling establishment.  

Keywords

  1. Abbaspour N, Babaee L. 2017. Effect of salicylic acid application on oxidative damage and antioxidant activity of grape (Vitisvinifera L.) under drought stress conditions. International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology 4, 29-50.
  2. Abedi-Koupai J, Asadkazemi J. 2006. Effects of a hydrophilic polymer on the field performance of an ornamental plant (Cupressusarizonica) under reduced irrigation regimes- Iran Polymer Journal 15, 715-725.
  3. Abolhasani K, Saiedi G. 2006. Evaluation of drought tolerance of safflower lines based on tolerance and sensitivity indices to water stress. Journal of Science and Technology of Agriculture and Natural Resources 10, 407-418.
  4. Agamy R.A, Hafez E.E, Taha T.H. 2013. Acquired resistant motivated by SA applications on salt-stressed tomato (LycopersiconesculentumMill). American- Eurasian Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences 13, 50-57.
  5. Allen R.G, Pereira L.S, Raes D, Smith M. 1998. Crop evapotranspiration: Guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56, Rome, Italy.
  6.  AOAC. 1984. Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists S. Williams (Editor). Arlington, VA.
  7. Armandpisheh A.H, Irannejad A, Allah dadi R, Amirikoliaee A.A. 2010. Application of zeolite effect on germination and vigor of canola seed under drought stress. Journal of Crop Ecophysiology 1, 54-62.
  8. Ashrafi M, AzimiMoqadam M.R, Moradi P, Shekari F, MohseniFard E. 2018. Identification of drought tolerant and sensitive species of thyme through some physiological criteria. International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology 5, 53-63.
  9. Blum A. 1996. Crop responses to drought and the interpretation of adaptation. Plant growth regular 20, 135-148.

10. Boman D.C, Evans R.Y. 1991. Calcium inhibition of polyacrylamide gel hydration is partially reversible by potassium. Horticultural Science 26, 1063-1065.

11. Bowler Ch, Montagu M.V, Inze D. 1992. Superoxide dismutase and stress tolerance. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Bioi. 1992.43:83-116. Annual Reviews Inc.

12. Brar B.S, Dhillon N.S, Chhina H.S. 2001. Integrated use of farmyard manure and inorganic fertilizers in maize (Zea mays L.). Indian Journal of Agricultural Science 71, 605-607.

13. Chaves M.M, Maroco J.P, Pereira J.S. 2003. Understanding plant responses to drought: from genes to the whole plant. Functional Plant Biology 30, 239-264.

14. De Boodt M.F. 1990. Application of polymeric substances as physical soil conditioners. In: Soil colloids and their association in soil aggregates. Plenum Publishing Corporation, London, New York.

15. Fahad S, Bajwa A, Nazir U, Anjum Sh,  Farooq A, Zohaib A,  Sadia S, Wajid N, Adkins S, Muhammad Sh.S, Ihsan Z, Alharby H, WuCh, Wang D, Huang J. 2017. Crop production under drought and heat stress: plant responses and management options. Frontier Plant Science 8, 1147.

16. Fallahi H.R, Ghorbany M, Samadzadeh A, AghhavaniShajari M, Asadian A.H. 2016. Influence of arbuscularmycorrhizal inoculation and humic acid application on growth and yield of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) and its mycorrhizal colonization index under deficit irrigation. International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology 3, 113-128.

17. Francesco F, Angelo P, Pietro S, Alessandro S, Francesco S. 2015. Biodegradable superabsorbent hydrogel increases the water retention properties of growing media and plant growth. Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia 4, 451-458.

18. Giannopolitis C.NRies S.K. 1977. Superoxide dismutase: I. Occurrence in higher plants. Plant Physiol 59, 309-14.

19. Hayat S, Ahmad A. 2007. Salicylic acid: A plant hormone. Springer Pub, Dordrecht.

20. Johnson M.S, Leah R.T. 1990. Effects of superabsorbent polyacrylamides on the efficiency of water use by crop seedlings. Journal of the Science of Food Agriculture 52, 431-434.

21. Johnson M.S, Veltkamp C.J. 1985. Structure and functioning of water-storing agricultural polyacrylamides. Journal of the Science of Food Agriculture 36, 789-793.

22. Kafi M, MahdaviDamghani A. 2000. The plant resistant mechanism to environmental stresses. Ferdowsi university publication. (In Persian)

23. Karimi, A, Naderi, M. 2007. Yield and water use efficiency of forage corn as influenced by superabsorbent polymer application in soils with different textures. PajouhesheKeshvarzi 3,187-198. (In Persian)

24. Kaya M.D, Okçub G, Ataka M, Çıkılı Y, Kolsarıcıa O. 2006. Seed treatments to overcome salt C drought stress during germination in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). European Journal of Agronomy 24, 291-295.

25. Kazemian H. 2004. Introduction to Zeolites, Minerals Magic. Behesht Publication 126. (in Persian)

26. Keshavars L, Farahbakhsh H, Golkar P. 2012. The effects of drought stress and superabsorbent polymer on morphophysiological traits of Pear millet (Pennisetumglaucum). International research journal of applied and basic sciences 3, 148-154.

27. Khan W, Balakrishnan P, Smith D.L. 2003. Photosynthetic responses of corn and soybean to foliar application of salicylates. Journal of Plant Physiology 160, 485-492.

28. Khodary S.E.A. 2004. Effect of SA on growth, photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism in salt-stressed maize plants. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering 6, 5-8.

29. Larson R.A. 1988. The antioxidants of higher plants. Phytochemistry 27, 969-978.

30. Moharekar S.T, Lokhande S.D, Hara T, Tanaka R, Tanaka A, Chavan P.D. 2003. Effect of SA on chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of wheat and moon caryopsis. Photosynthetica 41, 315-317.

31. Ngouajio M, Wang G, Goldy R. 2007. Withholding of drip irrigation between transplanting and flowering increases the yield of field-grown tomato under plastic mulch. Agricultural Water Management 87, 285-291.

32. Nonami H. 1998. Plant water relations and control of cell elongation at low water potentials. Journal of Plant Research 111, 373-382.

33. Ouchi S, Nishikawa A, Kameda E. 1990. Soil-improving effect of a super water absorbent-polymer. II. Evaporation, leaching of salts and growth of vegetables. Journal of the Science of Soil and Manure 61, 606-613.

34. Pandey R.K, Maranville J.W, Admou A. 2001. Tropical wheat response to irrigation and nitrogen in a Sahelian environment. I. Grain yield, yield components, and water use efficiency. European Journal of Agronomy15, 93-105.

35. Reddy A.R, Chaitanya K.V, Vivekanandan M. 2004. Drought-induced responses of photosynthesis and antioxidant metabolism in higher plants. Journal of Plant Physiology 161, 1189-1202.

36. SadeghianMotahar Y, Mozaffari J, DehghaniShoraki Y, Ahmadi, M, Khaksar K, Marashi S, Khazaei F, Zargari H, Torahi A, Khademi R, Hajian S. 2008.Guidelines of tests for distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) for date palm. Seed and Plant Certification and Registration Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran. (In Persian)

37. Sadeghipour O, Aghaei P. 2012. The role of exogenous salicylic acid (SA) on phytohormonal changes and drought tolerance in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Journal of biodiversity environment science 2, 8-15.

38. Sinha S.K, Khanna-Chopra R, Aggarwal P.K, Chaturvedi G. S, Koundal K.R. 1982. Effect of
drought on shoot growth: the significance of metabolism to growth and yield. In: Drought resistance in crop with emphasis on rice, irri, Manila, Philippines, ISBN: 5784585099, 153-169.

39. Szepesi A, Csiszar J, Bajkan S, Gemes K, Horvath F, Erdel L, Deer A.K, Simon M.L, Tari L. 2005. Role of SA pre-treatment on the acclimation of tomato plants to salt and osmotic stress. Acta Biologica Szegediensis 49, 123-125.

40. Taiz L, Zeiger E. 2006. Plant physiology. 4th Edition, Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland.

41. Yang X, Chen X, Ge Q, Li B, Tong Y, Zhang A, Li Z, Kuang T, Lu.C. 2006. Tolerance of photosynthesis to photoinhibition, high temperature and drought stress in flag leaves of wheat: a comparison between a hybridization line and its parents grown under field conditions. Plant Science 171, 389 -397.

42. Zahedi H, Shirani Rad A.H, TohidiMoghadam H.R. 2011. Effects of zeolite and selenium applications on some agronomic traits of three canola cultivars under drought stress. PesquisaAgropecuária Tropical 41, 179-185.

43. Zamanian, M. 2008. The effects of the usage of the different levels of the Zeolite in the capacity of preserving of the water of the soil. The first meeting on the Zeolite of Iran. The University of Amir Kabir, 247-248.