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Partial root-zone drying irrigation improves growth and physiology of tobacco amended with biochar by modulating phytohormonal profile and antioxidant system

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Abstract

Background and aims

Biochar is a porous-pyrogenic carbon that can improve crop productivity in suboptimal conditions, yet the combined effects of biochar and soil water deficit under partial root-zone drying irrigation (PRD) on plant growth and physiology remain largely elusive. This study therefore investigated the ecophysiological responses of tobacco amended with biochar to different irrigation regimes including PRD.

Methods

Tobacco plants were grown in split-root pots to implement PRD under Ferralsol and Anthrosol amended with wheat-straw (WSBC) and soft-wood (MWBC) biochar, and subjected to three irrigation regimes. Key parameters of plant growth and physiology were determined.

Results

Compared to plants grown under full irrigation (FI), deficit irrigation (DI) and PRD decreased leaf area (LA), leaf dry matter (LDM) and leaf relative water content (RWC) but increased leaf N content ([N]leaf); also decreased leaf photosynthetic rate, maximum rate of carboxylation by rubisco and stomatal conductance, while significantly enhanced the intrinsic water-use efficiency (20% and 45%). Compared to non-biochar, WSBC increased LA and LDM but lowered RWC and [N]leaf. DI and PRD significantly increased leaf abscisic acid ([ABA]) and zeatin riboside ([ZR]) while reduced gibberellic acid ([GA3]) and indole-3-acetic acid ([IAA]) concentrations; PRD possessed greater [ABA] and [ABA]/[GA3] but lower [GA3] and [GA3]/[ZR] than DI, which was further magnified by WSBC. Additionally, superoxide dismutase and peroxidases activities were up-regulated by WSBC especially under PRD.

Conclusion

Collectively, incorporating WSBC and PRD might be an effective strategy to improve water productivity by optimizing phytohormonal profile and antioxidant system thereby growth and physiology of tobacco.

Highlights

  • Partial root-zone drying irrigation (PRD) and biochar addition altered tobacco phytohormonal profile and antioxidant system.

  • Wheat-straw biochar amplified the PRD-induced increased leaf abscisic acid and lowered gibberellic acid concentrations.

  • Wheat-straw biochar up-regulated superoxide dismutase and peroxidases activities.

  • Combined PRD/wheat-straw biochar application improved tobacco growth and Water-use efficiency.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

WSBC:

wheat straw biochar

MWBC:

soft wood biochar

LA:

leaf area

LDM:

leaf dry matter

RWC:

leaf relative water content

[N]leaf :

leaf nitrogen content

[ABA]:

leaf abscisic acid concentration

[ZR]:

leaf zeatin riboside concentration

[GA3]:

leaf gibberellic acid concentration

[IAA]:

leaf indole-3-acetic acid concentration

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

SOD:

superoxide dismutase

POD:

peroxidase

CAT:

catalase

An :

leaf photosynthetic rate

gs :

stomatal conductance

Tr :

transpiration rate

WUEi :

intrinsic water use efficiency

WUEn :

instantaneous water use efficiency

PCA:

principal component analysis

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly supported the China Scholarship Council (No. 201906300056). We would like to thank the China Shaanxi Tobacco Co. for providing the seedling of tobacco. The technical assistance by Guiyu Wei, Yiting Chen and Jiarui Zhang was grate fully acknowledged.

Funding

This work was partly supported by China Scholarship Council (No. 201906300056).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas, Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Xuezhi Liu, Zhenhua Wei, Jingxiang Hou, Heng Wan & Yingying Ma

  2. College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Weihui Road 23, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Xuezhi Liu, Zhenhua Wei, Jingxiang Hou, Heng Wan & Yingying Ma

  3. Tobacco Research Institute of Shaanxi Tobacco Company, Xi’an, 710061, Shaanxi, China

    Qiang Zhang

  4. Department of Plant and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Højbakkegaard Alle 13, 2630, Taastrup, Denmark

    Fulai Liu

Authors
  1. Xuezhi Liu
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  2. Zhenhua Wei
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  3. Jingxiang Hou
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  4. Heng Wan
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  5. Qiang Zhang
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  6. Yingying Ma
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  7. Fulai Liu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study. Experiment design and execution, conceptualization, data curation and analysis, and writing-original draft preparation were performed by Xuezhi Liu. Experiment execution and data compilation were partly performed by Yingying Ma, Jingxiang Hou and Heng Wan. Technical support for tobacco crop cultivation was partly supported by Qiang Zhang. Original research idea, experiment design, reviewing and editing were performed by Fulai Liu. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zhenhua Wei or Fulai Liu.

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Liu, X., Wei, Z., Hou, J. et al. Partial root-zone drying irrigation improves growth and physiology of tobacco amended with biochar by modulating phytohormonal profile and antioxidant system. Plant Soil 474, 561–579 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05359-8

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