Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress and Anthropogenic Coping Strategies

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2023) | Viewed by 7508

Special Issue Editor

State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Interests: eco-physiological mechanisms; cultivation management measures; efficient utilization of light and temperature resources; plant–soil–microbe interaction

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Under the influence of climate change and human activities, plants are suffering more and more abiotic stresses, such as drought, flood, salinization, extreme temperature, mineral nutrient deficiency, and heavy metal pollution. These abiotic stresses can cause physiological and biochemical disorders in plants, significantly reduce plant growth and yield, and even lead to direct plant death under critical stress, which seriously threatens global food security. For these reasons, effective and sustainable measures are needed to maintain or increase plant productivity and the stability of agricultural systems.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect papers on improving the physiological and ecological characteristics of plants and increasing plant productivity through the interaction between microbes and plants, the addition of plant hormones, the improvement of soil conditions, and the optimization of comprehensive cultivation and management measures in response to abiotic stress. Original research articles and reviews are welcome, particularly in the areas of photosynthetic processes, microbe–plant interactions, cultivation management practices, and mineral nutrition.

Dr. Bin Zhao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • abiotic stress
  • eco-physiological mechanisms
  • microorganisms interact with plants
  • cultivation management measures
  • plant productivity
  • mitigation practices

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1208 KiB  
Article
Dissolved Organic Matter from Earthworm Casts Restrained the Phytotoxicity of Soil Glyphosate to Citrus (Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.) Plants
by Huan Feng, Lei Jiang, Bingjie Wang, Bo Pan and Yong Lin
Agriculture 2023, 13(6), 1148; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13061148 - 29 May 2023
Viewed by 1063
Abstract
A large amount of glyphosate enters the soil at a high frequency, forming “pseudo-persistent” pollutants that, in turn, threaten soil ecological function and crop growth. Earthworm casts (EWCs) are a sound organic alternative to chemical fertilizers to promote crop growth. Dissolved organic matter [...] Read more.
A large amount of glyphosate enters the soil at a high frequency, forming “pseudo-persistent” pollutants that, in turn, threaten soil ecological function and crop growth. Earthworm casts (EWCs) are a sound organic alternative to chemical fertilizers to promote crop growth. Dissolved organic matter from EWCs (EWC-DOM) is supposed to be a more mobile and bioavailable fraction. However, the effect of EWC-DOM on the phytotoxicity of glyphosate remains largely unknown. This study examines glyphosate-induced oxidative stress and its impact on antioxidant and detoxification enzymes in citrus plants grown in soils with and/or without EWC-DOM. The results suggest that EWC-DOM could reduce the membrane lipid peroxidation level, thus slowing down the aging of plants in order to maintain stronger resilience, with more active antioxidant enzymes (including SOD, POD, and CAT) and detoxification enzymes (including GST, laccase, CPR, and UGTs) that could effectively remove reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by glyphosate stress, thereby alleviating the damage of ROS accumulation on plant tissues. Our data indicate that incorporating EWC-DOM should be a sound way to protect citrus plants from the phytotoxicity caused by using glyphosate for orchard weeding. This has major implications for the sustainable and healthy development of citrus production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress and Anthropogenic Coping Strategies)
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16 pages, 2286 KiB  
Article
The Application of Humic Acid Urea Improves Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Crop Yield by Reducing the Nitrogen Loss Compared with Urea
by Baishu Kong, Qicong Wu, Yongqiang Li, Taochuan Zhu, Yufei Ming, Chuanfu Li, Chuanrong Li, Fenghua Wang, Shuying Jiao, Lianhui Shi and Zhi Dong
Agriculture 2022, 12(12), 1996; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12121996 - 24 Nov 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4236
Abstract
Enhancing nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) and reducing urea N losses are major challenges in ensuring sustainable agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of humic acid urea on N losses, soil microbial nutrient balance and NUE through leaching [...] Read more.
Enhancing nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) and reducing urea N losses are major challenges in ensuring sustainable agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of humic acid urea on N losses, soil microbial nutrient balance and NUE through leaching experiments, soil incubation experiments and field experiments of maize-wheat rotation. We set up four N gradients (240 kg N hm−2, 216 kg N hm−2, 192 kg N hm−2, 168 kg N hm−2) and two N fertilizer types (urea and humic acid urea) to make up five treatments, with no N application as the control. The results showed that humic acid urea reduced the fertilizer N losses by 25.51%, 23.07% and 23.08% in the three pathways of N leaching, NH3 volatilization and N2O emission, respectively, compared with urea. Humic acid urea significantly increased soil ammonium N, nitrate N and available phosphorus contents, and brought the enzyme stoichiometry ratio closer to 1:1:1, which promoted microbial nutrient balance. Application of humic acid urea significantly increased yield, NUE and annual net economic profit of maize and wheat. Among all treatments, the application of humic acid urea at 216 kg N hm−2 maximized NUE, reduced environmental pollution and increased yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress and Anthropogenic Coping Strategies)
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13 pages, 1710 KiB  
Article
Impacts of the Inoculation of Piriformospora indica on Photosynthesis, Osmoregulatory Substances, and Antioxidant Enzymes of Alfalfa Seedlings under Cadmium Stress
by Bingqian Liu, Chunchun An, Shuying Jiao, Fengyuan Jia, Ruilin Liu, Qicong Wu and Zhi Dong
Agriculture 2022, 12(11), 1928; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12111928 - 17 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1692
Abstract
With the random discharging of industrial and agricultural wastewater, a large amount of cadmium (Cd) has accumulated in the soil, which seriously affects the growth of crops and people’s food safety. In this study, alfalfa was used as the material for studying the [...] Read more.
With the random discharging of industrial and agricultural wastewater, a large amount of cadmium (Cd) has accumulated in the soil, which seriously affects the growth of crops and people’s food safety. In this study, alfalfa was used as the material for studying the effects of the inoculation of Piriformospora indica (P. indica) on photosynthesis, osmoregulatory substances, and antioxidant enzymes of alfalfa seedlings at different Cd concentrations (0, 5, 10, 30, 50, and 100 mg/L) through hydroponic experiments. The results showed that with the increase in Cd concentration, the chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), and stomatal conductance (Gs) of alfalfa all decreased gradually, while the intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) decreased at first and then increased. However, compared with non-inoculated control plants, the inoculation of P. indica improved the photosynthesis (41.97%) of alfalfa under Cd stress, increased the chlorophyll content (43.70%), and significantly increased the contents of proline (29.86%), soluble proteins (38.54%), and antioxidant enzyme activities. It was concluded that P. indica alleviates the negative effects of Cd on alfalfa plants to some extent. This is because P. indica can resist Cd stress and improve plant growth in cadmium-contaminated agricultural soil by alleviating membrane peroxidation damage, regulating osmotic regulatory substances, and enhancing enzyme activity to improve the antioxidant defense system. Thus, P. indica can be considered a biological fertilizer for improving plant growth and physiology in soils contaminated with cadmium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress and Anthropogenic Coping Strategies)
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