An Approach to alleviate the impact of drought stress with selenium amendment

Document Type : Regular Paper

Authors

1 . University of Carthage –Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte (7021 Jarzouna-Bizerte)

2 DAFNAE, University of Padova, Agripolis 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy.

3 INRAT

Abstract

ABSTRACT



Selenium (Se), an essential microelement for humans and animals, has recently gained in importance in the plant systems due to its effects on antioxidative defense system. Several studies demonstrated that low concentrations of Se protect plants against various types of biotic and abiotic stresses. We conducted a pot experiment for two months, using Sorghum (Sorghum vulgarea L.), to investigate the protective role of a low dose of Se (20 mg Se L−1) against a drought stress. Specifically, we submitted treated and non-treated plants to three different condition of water availability: control condition (100% field capacity), low drought condition (70% field capacity), and high drought condition (35% field capacity) and we measured growth and several physiological traits of these plants. We found that Se treatment stimulates growth and significantly increases the relative water content (RWC) and the chlorophyll content. These findings suggest that Se could alleviate drought stress by promoting growth and regulating water status of sorghum.

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Iranian Journal of Science

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 31 March 2016

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