Effects of Drought Stress and Bio-fertilizer Inoculation on Quantitative and Qualitative Characteristics of Marian Thistle (Silybum marianum L.)

Document Type : Scientific - Research

Authors

1 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Zabol University, Zabol, Iran

2 Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Zabol University, Zabol, Iran

3 Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Zabol University, Zabol, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
Introduction
Marian thistle (Silybum marianum L.) is a medicinal, herbaceous and annuals plant belongs to the Asteraceae family which is used to treat liver disease. The essential oil of Marian thistle seeds is the type of flavonolignans (phenols family) that forms 1.5 to 3% of its seeds weight. The important flavonoids found in the seeds of this plant are silybin, silychristin and silydianin is known as silymarin compounds, that is yellow. Increasing the desired compounds of medicinal plants is possible by cultivation techniques manipulation such as irrigation, fertilization or photo-bioreactor systems. Water deficient is the most important factors limiting the growth and yield of medicinal crops, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Bio-fertilizers as an alternative in some cases and in most cases as a complement to chemical fertilizers can help to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production systems. Han et al. (2006) in the study of the effect of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB), Bacillus megaterium var. phosphaticum and potassium solubilizing bacteria (KSB), Bacillus mucilaginosus in nutrient limited soil planted with pepper and cucumber stated that Rock P and K applied either singly or in combination did not significantly enhance soil availability of P and K. PSB was a more potent P-solubilizer than KSB, and co-inoculation of PSB and KSB resulted in consistently higher P and K availability than in the control. Rock P with inoculation of PSB increased the availability of P and K, the uptake of N, P and K by shoots and roots, and the growth of both pepper and cucumber. Similar but less pronounced results were obtained when rock K and KSB were added concomitantly. Combined together, rock materials and both bacterial strains consistently increased further mineral availability, uptake and plant growth, suggesting their potential use as fertilizer. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of bio-fertilizers inoculation and drought stress on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Marian thistle.
Materials and methods
This experiment was conducted in a split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications, at the Research Farm of Zabol University, during growing season of 2012 and 2013. Main plots consisted of irrigation with 50, 70 and 90% field capacity and subplots including plant nutrition with nitroxin, supernitroplus, rich phosphate II, mycorrhiza and non-use of bio-fertilizer. Plant traits such as seed yield (kg.ha-1), the number of capitols per plant, the number of seeds per capitol, 1000-seed weight (g.plant-1), essential oil percentage, plant organic matter percentage, proline percentage and protein percentage of Marian thistle were measured. For statistical analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) and simple correlation analysis were performed using SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA).
Results and discussion
In this experiment, the effects of drought stress, bio-fertilizer and their interactions on all studied traits were significant at the 1% probability level. The highest grain yield (1300.00 kg), the number of capitols per plant (12.00 no.), 1000-seed weight (23.27g), plant organic matter percentage (95.00%) and protein percentage (17.19%) belong to treatment of irrigation with 90% field capacity and nitroxin bio-fertilizer. The maximum number of seeds per capitol (87.67) were obtained by irrigation with 90% field capacity and mycorrhiza bio-fertilizer. Irrigation with 70 and 90% field capacity and nitroxin bio-fertilizer application were explained the maximum and minimum of essential oil percentage (3.72%) and proline percentage (0.04%), respectively. The number of capitols per plant was the most important component in determining grain yield. The use of bio-fertilizers damped the effect of drought stress and improved qualitative and quantitative characteristics of Marian thistle.
Conclusion
Inoculation with nitroxin bio-fertilizer compared to the others could further amend drought stress and improved the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Marian thistle. Thus, it appears that in order to achieve sustainable agriculture instead of chemical fertilizers is recommended.

Materials and methods
This experiment was conducted in a split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications, at the Research Farm of Zabol University, during growing season of 2012 and 2013. Main plots consisted of irrigation with 50, 70 and 90% field capacity and subplots including plant nutrition with nitroxin, supernitroplus, rich phosphate II, mycorrhiza and non-use of bio-fertilizer. Plant traits such as seed yield (kg.ha-1), the number of capitols per plant, the number of seeds per capitol, 1000-seed weight (g.plant-1), essential oil percentage, plant organic matter percentage, proline percentage and protein percentage of Marian thistle were measured. For statistical analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) and simple correlation analysis were performed using SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA).
Results and discussion
In this experiment, the effects of drought stress, bio-fertilizer and their interactions on all studied traits were significant at the 1% probability level. The highest grain yield (1300.00 kg), the number of capitols per plant (12.00 no.), 1000-seed weight (23.27g), plant organic matter percentage (95.00%) and protein percentage (17.19%) belong to treatment of irrigation with 90% field capacity and nitroxin bio-fertilizer. The maximum number of seeds per capitol (87.67) were obtained by irrigation with 90% field capacity and mycorrhiza bio-fertilizer. Irrigation with 70 and 90% field capacity and nitroxin bio-fertilizer application were explained the maximum and minimum of essential oil percentage (3.72%) and proline percentage (0.04%), respectively. The number of capitols per plant was the most important component in determining grain yield. The use of bio-fertilizers damped the effect of drought stress and improved qualitative and quantitative characteristics of Marian thistle.
Conclusion
Inoculation with nitroxin bio-fertilizer compared to the others could further amend drought stress and improved the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Marian thistle. Thus, it appears that in order to achieve sustainable agriculture instead of chemical fertilizers is recommended.

Keywords


Abdelaziz, M., Pokluda, R., and Abdelwahab, M.M. 2007. Influence of compost, microorganisms and NPK fertilizer upon growth, chemical composition and essential oil production of Rosmarinus officinalis L. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici cluj-Napoca 35: 86-90.
Abdelhafez, A.A., and Abdel-Monsief, R.A. 2006. Effects of VA mycorrhizal inoculation on growth, yield and nutrient content of cantaloupe and cucumber under different water regimes. Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science 2(6): 503-508.
Adesemoye, A.O., Torbert, H.A., and Kloepper, J.W. 2008. Enhanced plant nutrient use efficiency with PGPR and AMF in an integrated nutrient management system. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 54: 876-886.
Apse, M.P., and Blumwald, E. 2002. Engineering salt tolerance in plants. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 13(2): 146-150.
Aslantas, R., Cakmakci, R., and Sahin, F. 2007. Effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on young apple tree growth and fruit yield under orchard conditions. Scientia Horticulturae 111: 371-377.
Auge, R.M., Stodola, A.J.W., Tims, J.E., and Saxton, A.M. 2001. Moisture retention properties of a mycorrhizal soil. Plant and Soil 230: 87-97.
Azeez, J.O., Van Averbek, W., and Okorogbona, A.O.M. 2010. Differential responses in yield of pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima L.) and nightshade (Solanum retroflexum Dun.) to the application of three animal manures. Bioresource Technology 101: 2499-2505.
Bates, I.S., Walden, R.P., and Teare, I.D. 1973. Rapid determination of free proline for water stress studies. Plant and Soil 39: 205-207.
Biyari, A., Gholami, A., and Asadi Rahmani, H. 2008. Sustainable production and improvement of nutrient absorption by maize in reaction to seed inoculation by PGPR. Proceeding of the 2nd National Iranian Agroecology Conference, Gorgan, Iran p. 8. (In Persian)
Bockman, O.C. 1997. Fertilizers and biological nitrogen fixation as sources of plant nutrients: perspectives for future agriculture. Plant and Soil 194: 303-334.
Chen, J. 2006. The combined use of chemical and organic fertilizers and/ or biofertilizer for crop growth and soil fertility. International workshop on sustained management of the soil rhizosphere system for efficient crop production and fertilizer use. October 2007 p. 16-20.
Darzi, M.T., Galavand, A., Rejali, F., and Sefidkon, F. 2007. Effect of biofertilizers application on yield and yield components in fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Iranian Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants 22(4): 276-292. (In Persian with English Summary)
Demir, S. 2004. Influence of Arbuscular mycorrhiza on some physiological growth parameters of pepper. Turkish Journal of Biology 28: 85-90.
Dewick, P.M. 1998. Medicinal Natural Products. A Biosynthetic Approach. John Wiley and Sons, New York. 507p.
Dey, R., Pal, K.K., Bhatt, D.M., and Chauhan, S.M. 2004. Growth promotion and yield enhancement of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) by application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. Microbiological Research 159: 371-394.
Egamberdiyeva, D. 2007. The effect of plant growth promoting bacteria on growth and nutrient uptake of maize in two different soils. Appllied Soil Ecology 36: 184-189.
Gharib, F.A., Moussa, L.A., and Massoud, O.N. 2008. Effect of compost and bio-fertilizers on growth, yield and essential oil of sweet marjoram (Marjorana hortensis L.). Journal of Agriculture and Biological Science 10: 381-387.
Gholami, A., and Koocheki, A. 2001. Mycorrhizae in Sustainable Agriculture. Shahroud University Press, Semnan, Iran 212 pp. (In Persian)
Gilik, B.R., Penrose, D., and Wenbo, M. 2001. Bacterial promotion of plant growth. Biotechnology Advances 19: 135-138.
Gutierrez-Manero, F.J., Ramos-Solano, B., Probanza, A., Mehouachi, J., Tadeo, F.R., and Talon, M. 2001. The plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria Bacillus pumilus and B. licheniformis produce high amounts of physiologically active gibberellins. Physiologia Plantarum 111: 206-211.
Habibi, D.M., Boojar, M.A., Mahmodi, A., Ardakani, M.R., and Taleghani, D. 2004. Antioxidative enzayme in sunflower subjected to drought stress. 4th International Crop science Congress, Brishbane, Australia, 26 septamber 1- Octobr p. 1-4.
Haj Seyed Hadi, M.R., Dorzi, M.T., and Sharifi Ashoorabadi, E. 2008. Study the effects of conventional and low input production system on quantitative and qualitative yield of Silybum marianum L. 2nd Conference of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research ISOFAR, Modena, Italy.
Hammouda, F.M., Ismail, S.I., Hassan, N.M., Zaki, A.K., Kamel, A., and Rimpler, H. 1991. Evaluation of the Silymarin Content in Silybum marianum cultivated under different agricultural conditions. Planata Medica 57(8): A29 (DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-960276).
Heuer, B. 1994. Osmoregulatory role of proline in water stress and salt-stressed plants. In M. Pessarkli (Ed.), Handbook of Plant and Crop stress. Marcel Dekker Pub. New York p. 363-481.
Hikino, H., and Kiso, Y. 1984. Antihepatoxic action of flavono lignans from Silybum mariamum fruits, Planta Medica 4: 248-250.
Hong, Z., Lakkineni, K., Zhang, Z., and Verma, D.S. 2000. Removal of feedback inhibition of 1-pyrrolin-5-carboxylate synthetas resalts in increased prolin accumulation and prodaction of plant from osmotic stress .Plant Physiolology 122: 1129-1136.
James, B., Rodel, D., Lorettu, U., Reynaldo, E., and Tariq, H. 2008. Effect of Vesicular arboscular mycorrhiza (VAM) fungi inoculation on coppicing ability and drought resistance of Senna Spectabilis. Pakistan Journal of Botany 40(5): 2217-2224.
Kader, M.A. 2002. Effects of Azotobacter inoculant on the yield and nitrogen uptake by wheat. Journal of Biological Sciences 2: 259-261.
Kapoor, R., Chaudhary, V., and Bhatnagar, A.K. 2007. Effects of arbuscular mycorhiza and phosphorus application on artemisinin concenteration in Artemisia annua L. Mycoriza 17: 581-587.
Kapoor, R., Giri, B., and Mukerji, K.G. 2004. Improved growth and essential oil yield and quality in Foeniculum vulgare Mill. On mycorrhizal inoculation supplemented with P-fertilizer. Bioresource Technology 93: 307-311.
Kapoor, R., Giri, B., and Mukerji, K.G. 2002. Mycorrhization of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) to enhance the concentration and quality of essential oil. Jornal of Science Food and Agriculture 82(4): 339-342.
Kartikeyan, B.C., Abdul Jaleel, G.M., Lakshmanan, A., and Deiveekasundaram, M. 2008. Studies on rhizosphere microbial diversity of some commercially important medicinal plants. Colloids and Surfaces B: Bionterfaces 62: 143-145.
Khalvati, M.A., Mzafar, A., and Schmidhalter, U. 2005. Quantification of water uptake by arbuscular mycorrhizal hypha and its signification for leaf growth, water relations and gas exchange of barley subjected to drought stress. Plant Biology (Stuttgart) 7(6): 706-712.
Kumar, B., Trivedi, P., and Pandey, A. 2007. Pseudomonas corrugates: A suitable bacterial inoculants for maize grown under rain fed conditions of Himalayan region. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 39: 3093-3100.
Kumar, S., Pandey, P., and Maheshwari, D.K. 2009. Reduction in dose of chemical fertilizers and growth enhancement of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) with application of rhizospheric competent Pseudomonas aeruginosa LES4. European Journal of Soil Biology 45: 334-340.
Kumutha, K., Sempaualan, J., and Krishnan, P.S. 2004. Effect of insoluble phosphate and dual inoculation on soybean. In: S. Kannaryan, K. Kumar, K. Gouidarajan, (eds.), Biofertilizer p. 354-358.
Lal, P., Chhipa, B.R., and Kumar, A. 1993. Salt Affected Soil and Crop Production: A Modern Synthesis. Agro Botanical Publishers, India.
Leinhose, V., and Bergman, H. 1995. Changes in the yield lignin content and protein pattern of barley induced by drought stress. Angewandte-Botanik 69: 206-210.
Leithy, S., El-Meseiry, T.A., and Abdallah, E.F. 2006. Effect of biofertilizers, cell stabilizer and irrigation regime on rosemary herbage oil yield and quality. Journal of Appllied Research 2: 773-779.
Mahfouz, S.A., and Sharaf-Eldin, A. 2007. Effect of mineral vs. biofertilizer on growth, yield, and essential oil content of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.). Agrophysics Journal 21: 361-366.
Marschner, H. 1995. Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants. Academic Press. Ltd, London.
Mehnaz, S., and Lazarovits, G. 2006. Inoculation effects of Pseudomonas putida, Gluconacetobacter azotocaptans, and Azospirillum lipoferum on corn plant growth under greenhouse conditions. Microbiology and Ecology 51: 326-335.
Mittler, R. 2002. Oxidative stress, antioxidatnt and stress tolerance. Annual Review of Plant Science 7: 405-415.
Mohammadkhani, N., and Heidari, R. 2007. Effects of water stress on respiration, photosynthetic pigments and water content in tow Maize cultivar. Pakistan Journal of Biology Science 10(22): 4022-4028.
Mohanty, N. 2003. Photosynthetic characteristics and enzymatic antioxidant capacity of flag leaf and the grain yield in two cultivars of Triticum aestivum L. exposed to warmer growth conditions. Journal of Plant Physiology 160: 71-74.
Moradi, R., Rezvanimoghadam, P., Nassiri Mahallati, M., and Lakzian, A. 2010. The effect of application of organic and biological fertilizers on yield, yield components and essential oil of Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel). Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research 7: 625-637. (In Persian with English Summary)
Munns, R. 1993. Physiological process limiting plant growth in saline soil: some dogmas and hypotheses. Plant, Cell and Environment 16: 15-24.
Omidbaygi, R. 2006. Approaches Processing Medicinal Plants. Vol. 1, Astan Ghods Razavi Publisher, Mashhad, Iran. (In Persian)
Omidbaygi, R., and Nobakht, A. 2001. Nitrogen fertilizer affecting growth, seed yield and active substances of Milk thistle. Pakistan Journal of Biological Science 4: 1345-1349.
Omidi, H. 2010. Changes of proline content and activity of antioxidative enzymes in two canola genotype under drought stress. American Journal of Plant Physiology 5(6): 338-349.
Orhan, E., Esitken, A., Ercisli, S., Turan, M., and Sahin, F. 2006. Effects of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on yield, growth and nutrient contents in organically growing raspberry. Scientia Horticulturae 111: 38-43.
Pallai, R. 2005. Effect of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on canola (Brassica napus L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) plants. MSc thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskaton.
Paradi, I., Bratek, Z., and Lang, F. 2003. Influence of arbuscular mycorrhiza and phosphorus supply on polymine content, growth and photosynthesis of Plantago anceolata. Biologia Plantarum 46: 563-569.
Parvaiz, A., and Satyawati, S. 2008. Salt stress and phyto-biochemical responses of plants. Plant, Soil and Environment 54: 89-99.
Patten, C.L., and Glick, B.R. 2002. Role of Pseudomonas putida indole acetic acid in development of the host plant root system. Applied Environmental Microbiology 68: 3795-3801.
Pirlak, L., and Kose, M. 2009. Effects of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on yield and some fruit properties of strawberry. Journal of Plant Nutrition 32: 1173-1184.
Piromyou, P., Buranabanyat, B., Tantasawat, P., Tittabutr, P., Boonkerd, N., and Teaumroong, N. 2011. Effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) inoculation on microbial community structure in rhizosphere of forage corn cultivated in Thailand. European Journal of Soil Biolology 47: 44-54.
Qavami, N., Labbafi, M.R., Dehghani-Meshkani, M.R., and Mehrafarin, A. 2013. Determination of seed and oil yield and yield Components in two variety of milk thistle (Silybum marianum Gaetrn.) based on path analysis and regression. Medicinal Plants 11(44): 78-85.
Rajendran, K., and Devarj, P. 2004. Biomass and nutrient distribution and their return of Casuarina equisetifolia inoculated with biofertilizers in farm land. Biomas and Bioenergy 26: 235-249.
Ratti, N., Kumar, S., Verma, H.N., and Gautam, S.P. 2001. Improvement in bioavailability of tricalcium phosphate to Cymbopogon martini var. motia by rhizobecteria, AMF and Azospirillum inoculation. Microbiology Research 156: 145-149.
Reddy, A.R., Chaitanya, K.V., and Vivekanandan, M. 2004. Drought induced responses of photosynthesis and antioxidant metabolism in higher plants. Journal of Plant Physiology 161: 1189-1202.
Ribaudo, C.M., Rondanini, D.P., Cura, J.A., and Fraschina, A.A. 2001. Response of Zea mays to the onoculation with Azospirillum on nitrogen metabolism under greenhouse conditions. Journal of Plant Biolology 44: 631-634.
Rivera-Cruz, M.C., Narca, A.T., Ballona, G.C., Kohler, J., Caravaca, F., and Rold, A. 2008. Poultry manure and banana wastes are effective biofertilizer carriers for promoting plant growth and soil sustainability in banana crops. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 40: 3092 3095.
Rhodes, D., and Hanson, A.D. 1993. Quatenary ammonium and tertiary solfonium compounds in higher plants. Plant Physiology 44: 357-384.
Ruiz-Lozano, J.M. 2003. Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and alleviation of osmotic strees, new perspectives for molecular studies. Mycorrhiza 13: 309-17.
Sahin, F., Cakmakci, R., and Kantar, F. 2004. Sugar beet and barley yields in relation to inoculation with N2-fixing and phosphate solubilizing bacteria. Plant and Soil 265: 123-129.
Sairam, R.K., and Saxena, D.C. 2000. Oxidative stress and antioxidant in wheat genotypes: possible mechanism of water stress tolerance. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 184: 55-61.
Sanchez, G.E., Carballo, G.C., and Romos, G.S.R. 2008. Influence of organic manures and biofertilizers on the quality of two plantaginaceae: Plantago major L. and P. lanceolota L. Revista cubana de plants. Medicinales 13: 12-15.
Sangwan, N.S., Farooqi, A.H.A., Shabih, F., and Sangwan, R.S. 2001. Regulation of essential oil production in plants. Plant Growth Regulation 34: 3-21.
SAS Institute. 2013. The SAS system for Windows. Release 9.2. SAS Institute. Cary, NC.
Shaalan, M.N. 2005. Effect of compost and different sources of biofertilizers, on borage plants (Borago officinalis). Egyptian Journal of Agricultural Research 83: 271-284.
Shaharoona, B., Arshad, M., Zahir, A., and Azeem, K. 2006. Performance of maize (Zea mays L.) in the presence of nitrogenous fertilizer. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 38: 2971-2975.
Singh, J.S., Pandey, V.C., and Singh, D.P. 2011. Efficient soil microorganisms: a new dimension for sustainable agriculture and environmental development. Agricultural Ecosystem and Environment 140: 339-353.
Solinas, V., and Deiana, S. 1996. Effect of water and nutritional conditions on the Rosmarinus officinalis L. phenolic fraction and essential oil yields. Rivista Italiana Eppos 19: 189-198.
Song, H. 2005. Effects of VAM on host plant in the condition of drought stress and its Mechanisms. Electronic Journal of Biology 1(3): 44-48.
Sreevalli, Y., Baskaran, K., Chandrashekara, R., kuikkarni, R., SuShil Hasan, S., Samresh, D., Kukre, J., Ashok, A., Sharmar Singh, K., Srikant, S., and Rakesh, T. 2001. Preliminary observations on the effect of irrigation frequency and genotypes on yield and alkaloid concentration in petriwinkle. Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Sciences 22: 356-358.
Tahami, M.K. 2010. Study of biological fertilizer effects on yield and yield components and essential oil of Ocimum bacilicum. MSc thesis in Agroecology. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. (In Persian with English Summary)
Turkan, I., Bor, M., Ozdemir, F., and Koca, H. 2005. Differential responses of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant in the leaves of drought-sensitive P. vulgaris L. subjected to polyetylen glycol mediated water stress. Plant Science 168: 223-231.
Van Loon, L.C., Bakker, P., and Pieterse, C.M.J. 1998. Systemic resistance induced by rhizosphere bacteria. Annual Review of Phytopathology 36: 453-483.
Van Loon, L.C., and Glick, B.R. 2004. Increased Plant Fitness By Rhizobacteria. In H. Sandermann (ed.). Molecular Ecotoxicology of Plants. Ecological Suites. Springer-Verlag, Berlin p. 178-205.
Van Rensburg, L., Kruger, C.H., and Kruger, H. 1993. Proline accumulation as drought tolerance selection criterion: its relationship to member integrity and chloroplast ultra structure in Nicotiana tobacum L. Journal of Plant Physiology 141: 188-194.
Vessey, J.K. 2003. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria as biofertilizer. Plant and Soil 255: 571-586.
Walsh, U.F., Morrissey, J.P., and O’Gara, F. 2001. Pseudomonas for biocontrol of phytopathogens: from functional genomics to commercial exploitation. Curent Opinion in Biotechnology 12: 289-295.
Yadegari, M., Asadirahmani, H., Noormohammadi, G., and Ayneband, A. 2010. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria increase growth, yield and nitrogen fixation in Phaseolus vulgaris. Journal of Plant Nutrition 33: 1733-1743.
Zahir, A.Z., Arshad, M., and Frankenberger, W.F. 2004. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria. Advanced in Agronomy 81: 97-168.
CAPTCHA Image