The Effect of Amino Acid L-Phenylalanine, Selenium and Nitroxin Biological Fertilizer on the Physicochemical Properties of Goji Berries (Lycium barbarum cv. GB1)

علوم باغبانی

Article 6, Volume 39, Issue 1 - Serial Number 65, March 2025, Pages 107-93   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jhs.2024.88862.1360

Authors

S. Fatahi Siahkamary¹; V. Rabiei¹; M. Shoor^{* 2}; S. Nicola³

¹Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

²Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

³Department of Agricultural, Faculty of Forest and Food Sciences, University of Torino, Italy

Abstract

Introduction
The Lycium genus of the Solanaceae family has excellent nutritional and medicinal value. Two species of Lycium barbarum L. and Lycium chinense Mill. It is often called wolfberry or goji berry. The use of amino acids for horticultural crops is common worldwide, and many chemicals used as biostimulants are mixtures of amino acids. The effect of amino acids on plants seems to depend on the type of amino acid supplied and the type of plant. Selenium (Se) is an important component of selenoproteins and seleno-amino acids. Therefore, it has played many roles in the growth and function of living cells and important biological functions in animals and humans. Also Se is very similar in properties to sulfur and can act as S in biochemical systems. Biological fertilizers are fertile materials that contain one or more beneficial soil organisms within a suitable carrier. Overall, these fertilizers contain different types of microorganisms that can convert nutrients from unavailable form to available form through a biological process. The application of supernitroxin fertilizer by stimulating the synthesis of plant hormones increased the growth indicators of sesame varieties.
 
Materials and Methods
This experiment was conducted at the Research farm University of Mashhad, during 2021 and 2022 years. In early May, goji berry seedlings were planted in the field to check the effect of the L-phenylalanine (Phe), sodium selenate (Se), and nitroxine were applied before harvesting and foliar spraying on the goji berry plant during the growth stages. To conduct experiment, two-year-old seedlings of Goji berry cultivar GB1 were obtained from Mashhad Seedling Company located in Razavi Khorasan province, and after the seedlings were transferred to ground and established, initial foliar spraying was done. In order to evaluate the effect of L-phenylalanine, selenium, and nitroxine treatments, experiment were conducted as a randomized complete block design in 5 replications which factors include the amino acid L-phenylalanine (Phe: 0.5, 1, and 1.5 mM), sodium selenate (Se: 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg.L^-1) and nitroxin biological fertilizer (170, 330, and 500 μl.L^-1) at three levels and distilled water was applied as a control. One pot was considered for each repetition and a total of 10 pots were considered along with the control. Plants were sprayed every 15 days after establishment. After the three stages of foliar spraying, the content of phenol and flavonoid content and antioxidant activity, PAL and anthocyanin were measured.
 
Results and Discussion
The results showed that the treatments used in this experiment had a significant effect on the physiological and chemical characteristics of the goji berry plant. The results showed that the highest amount of titratable acidity (0.896%) was obtained in samples treated with nitroxine at a concentration of 333 microliters. The highest amount (18.56 mg.g^-1) of this index was obtained in fruits treated with phenylalanine at a concentration of 1.5 mM. The highest amount of this index was obtained in the fruits treated with phenylalanine at a concentration of 1 mM, which was 61.98% higher than the amount of flavonoid recorded in goji berries under control conditions. Also, the results showed that despite the decrease in the activity of PAL enzyme during the increase of selenium concentration, the activity of this enzyme was 13.66% higher than the activity of PAL enzyme under the condition of using selenium at a concentration of 1 mg/liter. The increase in the functioning of the antioxidant system is determined by the total antioxidant, which is controlled by the content of low-molecular components and the activity of antioxidant enzymes. Compounds such as ascorbic acid, glutathione, tocopherol, carotenoids, anthocyanins, endogenous metal chelators, TPC, TFC and alkaloids are low molecular weight antioxidants. Also nitroxin, supernitroplus, phosphate and mycorrhizal fertilizers. Nitroxin binds N in the atmosphere and balances the absorption of nutrient element in the plant. Nitroxin is responsible for the secretion of amino acids, antibiotics, hydrogen cyanide and siderophores, which promote the growth and development of plant roots and shoots, protect the roots from pathogens, thereby increasing yield. A sufficient supply of phenylalanine through the use of exogenous Phe or endogenous Phe provided by the shikimic acid pathway may be required to stimulate the activity of the phenylpropanoid pathway, as shown by the high PAL activity responsible for the accumulation of phenols, flavocyanins and anthocyanins. This leads to the need for ROS accumulation. Anthocyanins are groups of flavonoids found in vacuoles epidermal and mesophyll cells of plants. Anthocyanins can protect chlorophyll from light oxidation and, compared to other components, is a better indicator of plant oxidative stress caused by external factors that accumulate in plants.
 
Conclusions
The present study was conducted with the aim of studying the effect of L-phenylalanine, selenium and nitroxin biofertilizer on improving the vegetative growth, yield and secondary metabolites of gojiberry during two cropping years. To conduct the experiment, two-year-old seedlings of Goji berry variety GB1 were obtained from Mashhad Seedling Company located in Razavi Khorasan province. The results demonstrated that the application of L-phenylalanine amino acid, selenium, and nitroxin biofertilizer significantly influenced the traits studied during the experiment. Specifically, nitroxin at a concentration of 166 microliters increased the amount of soluble solids, while at a concentration of 333 microliters, it elevated titratable acidity compared to the control samples. The highest PAL enzyme activity was observed with phenylalanine at a concentration of 1.5 mM, showing a 52.17% increase compared to the PAL enzyme activity under control conditions.

Keywords

Antioxidant enzymes; Phenol content Tiratable acidity; Total soluble solids

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