Investigation of important morphological traits and grain yield of lentil under shading and bio-priming

پژوهش‌های حبوبات ایران

Article 7, Volume 7, Issue 1, June 2016, Pages 145-160   

Document Type: Original Articles

DOI: 10.22067/ijpr.v7i1.43941

Authors

feresteh darabi^* ; Ali Hatami; Mohammad Javad Zarea; Rahim Naseri

Ilam University

Abstract

Introduction
Lentil (Lens culinaris Medic) is a member of the leguminosae (Fabaceae) family and an important pulse crop grown in Iran. Growth of lentil plant is highly sensitive to environmental conditions, especially solar radiation, high temperature and water availability. One of the important reasons for unstable lentil yield is the indeterminate growth habit of lentil plants. Extensive vegetative growth, lodging, pod abortion due to limited light interception in the lower part of the canopy, excessive flower and pod shedding, and competition between pods and vegetative parts for photosynthates are all the consequences of indeterminacy and late maturity. Radiation (sunlight) is one the limiting factors in mixed and agroforestry cultivation systems. Crop yield is a function of radiation intercepted over the growing season, the efficiency of converting the intercepted radiation to biomass and the partitioning efficiency of biomass to seed yield. Therefore, in agroforestry production systems, maximizing the limited solar radiation with improved crop management practices such as seed inoculation with plant growth promoting rizobacteria (PGPR) could lead to yield improvement. Intensive use of chemical fertilizers has produced environmental problems and increased the production costs. The recent economic crisis and environmental problems has raised interest in environmental friendly sustainable agricultural practices, which can reduce input costs. N2-fixing may be important for plant nutrition by increasing nitrogen uptake by the plants, and playing a significant role as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in the bio-fertilization of crops. Plant growth-promoting rhizohacteria are able exit a beneficial upon plant growth. Nitrogen fixation and P. solubilization production of antibiotic and increased root dry weight are the principal mechanism for the PGPR. A number of different bacteria promote plant growth, including Azospirillum sp., Azospirillum species are plant growth-promotive bacteria whose beneficial effects have been postulated to be partially due to production of phytohormons, including gibberellins.

Materials and Methods
An experimental field to study the effect of light intensity on lentil cultivars was conducted using a factorial arrangement based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at Agricultural Research Station of Ilam University during the 2012-2013 growing season. Studied factors included shading (control (without shading), 25, 50, 75 and 100% by shading) and bio-priming (control and inoculation with Azospirillum). Lentil Seeds (Lens culinaris Medik.) cultivar ILL4400 were sown on 21 February, 2013. 5 rows with 25 cm width and 2 m long designed in a 2×1.3 m plots and seeds planted with 2 cm intervals in North to South direction. Special net cloth with exact thickness was used for shading. The nets were cut and attached on 2×2 m frames according to the plot size and placed 1 m height on plots. During the growth season, hand weeding was done in necessary times, too. Samplings were included plant height, number of branches per plant, number of flowers per plant, leaf dry weight, shoot dry weight, active node in the root, total nodes in root and grain yield. For analysis of variance SAS software version 9.1 was used and graphs charted with excel.

Results and Discussion
Interaction effects between shading ×bio-priming had the significant effect on studying traits. Increasing the shading and application of Azospirillum increased plant height and total nodes in the root, so that the highest plant height (44 cm) and total nodes in the root (11.3 nodes) were obtained from 100% shading and application of Azospirillum. In this study, the number of leaves per plant, the number of branches per plant, total of flowers per plant, leaf dry weight, shoot dry weight, active node in root and grain yield decreased with increasing shading × check treatment so that the highest number of leaf per plant (91 leaves), number of branch per plant (15.6 branches), total flower per plant (65 flowers), leaf dry weight (1.6 g), shoot dry weight (2.2 g), active node in root (16.6 nodes) and grain yield (2994 kg/ha).

Conclusion
This study indicated that Azospirillum had a positive effect on lentil and morphologic traits and grain yield revealed a better status in the presence of Azospirillum. In fact, Azospirillum could alleviate the partial of grain yield in presence of shading. In general, using bio-fertilizers and manage integrated nourishment quantitatively and qualitatively is one of the efficient ways to improve plant production. Moreover, the environment would have a better condition if chemical fertilizer consumption reduces. Recent studies demonstrated that using bio- fertilizers not only improve the soil physiological structure but also increase organic matters content and nitrogen available to coexistent plant. Undoubtedly, before massive production and widely application of such products, it is necessary to implement and replicate this experiment in different regions.

Keywords

Azospirillum; Number of branch; Root; Stem

References

1. Ali, M.A. 1999. Performance of red amaranth and lady's finger growth at different orientations and distances under guara and drumstick trees. MSc. Thesis, BSMRAU. Gazipure, Bangladesh.

2. Andrade, F.H. 1995. Analysis of growth and yield of maize, sunflower and soybean grown at Balcarce, Argentina. Field Crops Research 42: 1-12.

3. Alvarenga, A.A., Castro, E.M., Castro Lima Junior, E., and Magalhaes, M.M. 2003. Effects of different light levels on the initial growth and photosynthesis of Croton urucurana Baill in Southeastern Brazil. Revista Arvore 27: 53-57.

4. Azadi, S., Siadat, A., Naseri, R., Soleymanifard, A., and Mirzaei, A. 2013. Effect of integrated application of Azotobacter chroococcum and Azospirillium brasilense and nitrogen chemical fertilizers on qualitative and quantitative of durum wheat. Journal of Crop Ecophysiology 5 (26): 129-146. (In Persian with English Summary).

5. Bell, E.G., and Dannenberger, T.K. 1999. Temporal shade on creeping Bentgrass Turf. Crop Science. 39: 1142-1146.

6. Beck, D.P., Materon, L.A., and Afandi, F. 1993. Practical Rhizobium-Legume Technology Manual. ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria.

7. Blenkinsop, P.G., and Dale, J.E. 1974. The effect of shade treatment and light intensity on ribulose-l-5-diphosphate carboxylase activity and fraction I protein level in the first leaf of barley. Journal of Experimental Botany 25 (88): 899-912.

8. Corre, W.J. 1983. Growth and morphogenesis of sun and shade plants on the influence of light intensity. Acta Botanica Neerlandica 32: 49-62.

9. Deregibus, V.A., Sanchez, R.A., Casal, J.J., and Triica, M.J. 1985. Tillering responses to enrichment of red light beneath the canopy in a humid natural grassland. Journal of Applied Ecology 22: 199-206.

10. Fails, B.S., Lewis, A.J., and Barden, J.A. 1982. Net photosynthesis and transpiration of sun and shade grown Ficuse benjamina leaves. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 107: 758-761.

11. GhassemiGolezani, K., Movahedi, M., Rahimzadeh Khoi, F., and Moghaddam, M. 1997. Effects of water deficit on growth and yield of two chickpea cultivars at different densities. Journal of Agricultural Science 3 (4): 17-43. (In Persian with English Summary).

12. Hadi, H., Ghassemi-GoIezani, K., Rahimzade Khoei, F., Valizadeh, M., and Shakiba, M.R. 2006. Responses of common bean (Phaseulus vulgaris L.) to different levels of shade. Agronomy Journal 5(4): 595-599.

13. Haque, M.M., Hasauzzaman, M., and Rahman, M.L. 2009. Effect of light intensity on the morpho-physiology and yield of bottle ground (Lagenaria vulgaris). Academic Journal of Plant Sciences 2: 158-161.

14. Hassanabadi, T., Ardakani, M.R, Rejali, F, Paknejad, F., and Eftekhari, A. 2010. Simultaneous applications of biological and chemical fertilizers on the morphological characteristics of barley. Proceedings of the First National Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Healthy Product. Research Center of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Esfahan. (In Persian)

15. Hebert, Y., Ghingo, E., and Loudet, O. 2001. The response of root/shoot partitioning and root morphology to light reduction in maize. Crop Science 41: 363-371.

16. Kobata, T., Sugawara, M., and Takatu, S .2000. Shading during the early grain filling period doesn't affect potential grain dry matter increase in rice. Agronomy Journal 92: 411-417.

17. Larsen, J., Cornejo, P., and Miguel Barea, J. 2009. Interactions between the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices and the plant growth promoting rhizobacteria Paenibacillus polymyxa and P. macerans in the mycorrhizosphere of Cucumis sativus. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 41: 286-292.

18. Malek Maleki, F., Majnoon Hosseini, N., and Alizadeh, H. 2011. Effect of plant density on grain yield in two lentil cultivars. Iranian Journal of Crop Science 1: 33 -40.

19. Mohammadzadeh, A., Majnon Hosseini, N., Gaffari, M., Asadi, S., Dosti, A., and Khavazi, K. 2011. Effect on seedling emergence, growth-promoting bacteria in leaf senescence and yield of two varieties of red beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L). Iranian Journal of Crop Plants 43: 590-600. (In Persian with English Summary).

20. Mohammadi, M., Majnoonon Hoseini, N., Esmaeili, A., Dashtaki, M., and Alipour. H., 2011. Effect of different strains of Rhizobium and nitrogen fertilizer on leaf chlorophyll, grain yield and its components of three common beans. Iranian journal of Agricultural Science. 3: 535-543. (In Persian with English Summary).

21. Naseri, R., Fasihi, Kh., Hatami, A., and Poursiahbidi, M.M. 2010. Effect of planting pattern on yield, yield components, oil and protein contents in winter safflower cv. Sina under rainfed conditions. Iranian Journal of Crop Science 12(3): 227-238. (In Persian with English Summary).

22. Raven, J.A., Andrews, M., and Quigg, A. 2005. The evolution of oligotrophy: implications for the breeding of crop plants for low input agricultural systems. Annals of Applied Biology 146: 261-280.

23. Roussopoulos, D., Liakatas, A., and Whitington, W.J. 1998. Cotton responses to different light temperature regimes. Journal of Agricultural Science 131: 227-283.

24. Sharma, A.K. 2003. Bio-Fertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture. Agrobios India.

25. Soleymanifard, A., and Naseri, R. 2014. The Effects of urea fertilizer and Azotobacter and Azospirillum on physiological characteristics of Maize (Zea mays L.) at Khash, Iran. Journal of Crop Ecophysiology. 8(3): 301-316. (In Persian with English Summary).

26. Soleymanifard, A., Naseri Rad, H., Naseri, R., and Piri, E. 2013. Effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on phonology traits, grain yield and yield components of three maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars. Journal of Crop Ecophysiology 1(25): 71-90. (In Persian with English Summary).

27. Taher Khani, M., Noormohammadi, Gh, Mirhadi, M.J., Heidari Sharif Abadi, H., and Shirani Rad., A.H. 2009. Inculcation with different strains of Rhizobium on nitrogen fixation in different bean cultivars. Journal of New Findings 14: 23-36. (In Persian with English Summary).

28. Touchette, B.W., and Burkholder, J.M. 2000. Review of nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism in sea grasses. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 250: 133-167.

29. Wadud, M.A., Rahman, G.M.M., Chowdury, M.J.U., and Mahboob, M.G. 2002. Performance of red amaranth under shade condition for agro-forestry system. International Journal of Biological Sciences 2: 765-766.

30. Wan, C., and Ronald, E. 1998. Tillering responses to red: far-red light ratio during different phonological stages in Eragrostis curvula. Environmental and Experimental Botany 40: 247-254.

31. Yadav, K., Prasad, V., Mandal, K., and Ahmad, N. 1992. Effect of co-inoculation (Azospirillum and Rhizobium strains) on nodulation, yield, nutrient uptake and quality of lentil in calcareous soil (Lens culinaris). LENS Newsletter 19: 29-31.

32. Yahalom, E., Dovrat, A., Okon, Y., and Czosnek, H. 1991. Effect of inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense strain Cd and Rhizobium on the root morphology of burr medic (Medicago polymorpha L.). Israel Journal of Botany 40: 155-164.

33. Yasari, E., and Patwardhan, A.M. 2007. Effect of Aztobacter and Azospirillium inoculation and chemical fertilizers on growth and productivity of canola. Asian Journal of Plant Science 6 (1): 77-82.

34. Zaied, K.A., Abd-El-Hady, A.H., Afify, A.H., and Nassef, M.A. 2003. Yield and nitrogen assimilation of winter wheat inoculated with new recombinant inoculants of rhizobacteria. Pakistan Journal of Biological Science 6: 344-358.

35. Zarea, M.J., Hajinia, S., Karimi, N., Mohammadi Goltapeh, E., Rejali, F., and Varma, A., 2012. Effect of Piriformospora indica and Azospirillum strains from saline or non-saline soil on mitigation of the effects of NaCl. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 45: 139-146.