Effects of Sodium Polyacrylate and Potassium Polymer on Growth and Physiological Characteristics of Different Flue-Cured Tobaccos W.X
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Bulgarian Chemical Communications, Volume 50, Issue 2, (pp. 315 –323) 2018 Effects of sodium polyacrylate and potassium polymer on growth and physiological characteristics of different flue-cured tobaccos W.X. Huang*, Z.Z. Wei, G.Y. Niu, Y.J Zhang, H.F. Shao* College of Tobacco Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450002, China Received January 14, 2018; Accepted February 7, 2018 To investigate water retention effects and physiological regulation mechanism of water-retaining agents on the growth and development of different flue-cured tobacco varieties, a pot experiment was conducted using ‘Yuyan 6’ and ‘Yuyan 10’ to study the effects of sodium polyacrylate and potassium polymer on the agronomic characteristics, the root activity, the activity of antioxidant enzymes, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline in the leaves of flue-cured tobaccos. The results were as follows. (1) The application of water-retaining agents increased the plant height, the stem diameter, the number of effective leaves, the maximum leaf area and the root activity of flue-cured tobaccos and the effects were more significant for Yuyan 10 of relatively poor drought resistance. (2) The activity of SOD, POD and CAT of flue-cured tobaccos treated with water-retaining agents was reduced to different extents. (3) The application of water-retaining agents lowered the MDA content of flue-cured tobaccos but the effects were more significant for Yuyan 10 of relatively poor drought resistance. (4) The application of water-retaining agents decreased the proline content of flue-cured tobaccos under drought conditions, but the decrease of proline content in Yuyan 6 was larger than that in Yuyan 10. Yuyan 6 was highly drought-tolerant, so water-retaining agents could better promote the adaptability of Yuyan 10 to drought stress. Furthermore, water-retaining agent potassium polymer showed a stronger regulatory capability for the growth and physiological metabolism of flue-cured tobaccos than water-retaining agent sodium polyacrylate. Keywords: Water-retaining agents; Flue-cured tobaccos; Growth; Physiological characteristics INTRODUCTION surface runoff [7-9], thus playing a key role in the response to drought stress [10]. Y.H, Yang et al. Tobacco is one of the important economic crops found that the application of water-retaining agents in China [1]. Moisture is a major consistent of increased the soil moisture content in different tobacco plants, as well as an indispensable growth stages of winter wheat, as well as the environmental factor in the growth and metabolism accumulation of dry matter [11]. D.H. Liu et al. of tobacco [2]. At present, many soils of the world also proved that water-retaining agents significantly are rather short of water resources, especially in promoted the photosynthetic productivity and the agricultural production [3]. The shortage of water accumulation of biomass of potatoes [12]. Under resources in tobacco cultivation is intensified day drought conditions, the application of water- by day. Drought stress gives rise to serious retaining agents is of importance in the growth of abnormal physiological and biochemical changes of tobaccos [13-15]. In this paper, a pot experiment tobacco plants and further decreases the output and was conducted using ‘Yuyan 6’ of relatively good quality of tobacco leaves [4]. Therefore, it is of drought resistance and ‘Yuyan 10’ of relatively great significance to develop drought-resistant and poor drought resistance [16] to study the effects of water-saving tobacco cultivation and achieve sodium polyacrylate [(C3H3NaO2)n] and potassium superior quality and stable output of flue-cured polymer on the agronomic characteristics, the root tobaccos. activity, the activity of antioxidant enzymes, the In recent years, water-retaining agents, have contents of malondialdehyde (C3H4O2 ) (MDA) and been rapidly introduced in agricultural production proline (C5H9NO2) in tobacco leaves (see Fig. 1.), as anti-drought chemical agents which can soon aiming to figure out the physiological regulation absorb moisture hundreds of times as much as their mechanism of different water-retaining agents in mass [5]. The role of water retaining agents has the growth of flue-cured tobaccos and provide caught the attention of experts from the whole theoretical references for water-saving tobacco world [6]. Water-retaining agents can improve the cultivation. infiltration rate of soil moisture and reduce direct * To whom all correspondence should be sent. © 2018 Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Union of Chemists in Bulgaria E-mail: : [email protected]; [email protected] 315 W.X. Huang et al.: Effects of sodium polyacrylate and potassium polymer on growth and physiological … Fig. 1. a: Chemical structure of malondialdehyde; b: Chemical structure of proline. Fig. 2. Chemical structure of the effective components in two water retaining agents. A: Changhao anti-drought water-retaining agent; B: Shenghua water-retaining agent. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS Luoyang’s Luoning tobacco workstation and cultivated in plastic pots with a row spacing of 100 The pot experiment was conducted under a cm×50 cm. Each plastic pot had a height of 35 cm, rainproof shelter in the agricultural experimental an inner diameter of 40 cm and was filled with 20.0 zone of the new campus of Henan University of kg of cinnamon sandy soil which passed through a Science & Technology in Luoyang in 2015. Two 0.5 cm×1 cm mesh sieve and contained organic water-retaining agents were applied (Fig. 2.): A. matter 19.8 g/kg, available nitrogen 67.6 mg/kg, Changhao anti-drought water-retaining agent, rapidly available phosphorous 14.5 mg/kg and which was mainly composed of sodium rapidly available potassium 147.5 mg/kg, with a pH polyacrylate [(C H NaO ) ], white, granulated, 3 3 2 n value of 7.45. In all treatments, NPK fertilizer and crystalline, with a water absorption rate of 150 5 g of pure nitrogen were applied to each pot. times, purchased from Changhao Environmental N:P O :K O=1:1.5:3. Where necessary, calcium Science & Technology Co, Ltd; B. Shenghua water- 2 5 2 phosphate and potassium sulfate were used to retaining agent, which was a kind of potassium supplement inadequate phosphorus and potassium. polymer absorbent material prepared with modified The flue-cured tobacco plants were transplanted starch [(C H O ) ], acrylonitrile (C H N) and 6 10 5 n 3 3 on May 21, 2015. A total of six treatments were acrylamide (C H NO), white powdered, with a 3 5 designed (Table 1) and 50 flue-cured tobacco plants water absorption rate of 200 times, provided by were cultivated in 50 pots separately in each Changsha Shenghua Science & Technology treatment, totaling 300 flue-cured tobacco plants. Development Co., Ltd. Before transplanting, water-retaining agents, NPK The flue-cured tobaccos for the experiment were ‘Yuyan 6’ and ‘Yuyan 10’ provided by Table 1. Experimental treatments Treatments Water Retaining Agents Yuyan 10 CK Without water retaining agents Yuyan 10 T1 With water retaining agent A (sodium polyacrylate) Yuyan 10 T2 With water retaining agent B (potassium polymer) Yuyan 6 CK Without water retaining agents Yuyan 6 T1 With water retaining agent A (sodium polyacrylate) Yuyan 6 T2 With water retaining agent B (potassium polymer) 316 W.X. Huang et al.: Effects of sodium polyacrylate and potassium polymer on growth and physiological … fertilizer and soil were homogeneously blended and significantly above that in CK treatment by 31.9%, put into pots. Then, the flue-cured tobacco plants 25.2% and 18.4%, respectively; on the 30th d, 45th d were watered with 2 L to resume growth and the and 60th d after transplanting, the maximum leaf watering volumes were equal in all treatments. area of Yuyan 10 in T2 treatment increased by Afterwards, the maximum field capacity was 27.5%, 42.9% and 20.8% respectively in measured using the cutting-ring method [17], and comparison with CK treatment; on the 60th d and TDR-100 soil moisture content analyzer 75th d after transplanting, the number of effective (SPECTRUM, USA) was used to determine the soil leaves of Yuyan 10 in T2 treatment was moisture content. The flue-cured tobacco plants significantly higher than that in CK treatment by were subject to moderate water stress 10 d before 10.0% and 13.5%, respectively. The plant height, sampling and measurement based on relative soil the number of effective leaves and the maximum moisture contents at 50%, 70% and 60% of the leaf area of Yuyan 6 were T2>T1>CK in different maximum field capacity in the root extending stage, growth stages, but the differences were the vigorous growth stage and the maturity stage, insignificant. Thus, it can be inferred that the respectively. application of water-retaining agents could promote The plant height and the maximum leaf area of the growth of flue-cured tobaccos but the flue-cured tobaccos were measured using a tape of promotional effects on Yuyan 10 of relatively poor millimeter graduation, the stem diameter was drought resistance were more significant. measured with a vernier caliper and the number of The root system is an important organ for effective leaves was recorded at the time [17], in adsorption of nutrients and moisture in soil and the which the maximum leaf area = the maximum leaf root activity directly affects the drought resistance length × the maximum leaf width × 0.6345 (the leaf of crops [20-22]. As can be seen from Table 3, from area index of flue-cured tobacco). the 30th d to the 75th d after transplanting, the root The sampling began 30 d after transplanting and activity of flue-cured tobaccos increased at first, later was conducted at 9:00 a.m. every 15 d. The reached a maximum on the 60th d after top-down fifth fully-expanded leaves of three flue- transplanting and decreased from then on in cured tobacco plants were collected in each different treatments.