Publisher

BIOTROPBIOTROP

Journal BIOTROPIABIOTROPIA Abstract

Drought poses a significant challenge to crop productivity, with maize particularly vulnerable. Enhancing maize tolerance to drought stress is crucial, and one promising approach involves using biostimulants derived from natural sources. The seagrass Enhalus acoroides is a potential biostimulant due to its rich phytochemical composition, including phenols, tannins, flavonoids, and pigments, such as chlorophyll, lutein, pheophytin, and beta-carotene. These compounds exhibit antioxidant activity, suggesting their potential role in enhancing plant resilience to drought stress. This study evaluated the effects of E. acoroides extract on maize growth under drought conditions during the seedling phase and analyzed biochemical changes in maize plants treated with the extract. The extract was prepared using 10% dried E. acoroides leaves with a chloroform-to-ethanol solvent ratio of 9 : 1 (v/v) and subsequently dissolved in distilled water for final concentrations of 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.15%, 0.2%, and 0.25%. The results demonstrated that E. acoroides extract enhanced plant height, increased shoot and root fresh and dry weights. Additionally, plants sprayed with E. acoroides extract exhibited higher total sugars and protein content in the shoots as compared to non-sprayed plants. Under 20% polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced drought stress, control plants showed severe leaf wilting, whereas extract-treated plants only had mild wilting. The chlorophyll, reducing sugars, total N, and tocopherol contents were also higher in extract-treated plants under PEG stress than in untreated controls. These findings indicate the potential of E. acoroides extract as a biostimulant for improving drought tolerance in maize.

Conclusion

Spraying Enhalus acoroides extract significantly enhanced maize growth by increasing plant height and shoot and root biomass, as well as by improving reducing sugars and total N contents.Enhalus acoroides-treated plants exhibited higher chlorophyll levels and reduced oxidative stress, as indicated by lower H₂O₂ accumulation.acoroides extract increased reducing sugars, total nitrogen, and tocopherol levels, suggesting improved stress tolerance.These findings highlight the potential of E.acoroides extract as a biostimulant for enhancing plant growth and drought resilience in maize cultivation.Further research is needed to explore its applicability across different crops and environmental conditions.

Future Research

Berdasarkan penelitian ini, beberapa saran penelitian lanjutan yang dapat dilakukan adalah pertama, menginvestigasi mekanisme molekuler yang mendasari peningkatan toleransi kekeringan pada jagung akibat aplikasi ekstrak Enhalus acoroides. Penelitian ini dapat melibatkan analisis ekspresi gen terkait respons stres dan jalur metabolik yang terpengaruh oleh ekstrak tersebut. Kedua, mengeksplorasi efektivitas ekstrak Enhalus acoroides pada varietas jagung yang berbeda dan pada berbagai tingkat keparahan kekeringan. Hal ini akan membantu menentukan rentang aplikasi yang optimal dan potensi adaptasi ekstrak tersebut terhadap kondisi lingkungan yang bervariasi. Ketiga, menguji kombinasi ekstrak Enhalus acoroides dengan praktik pertanian berkelanjutan lainnya, seperti penggunaan pupuk organik atau teknik konservasi tanah, untuk mengidentifikasi sinergi yang dapat meningkatkan efisiensi penggunaan sumber daya dan mengurangi dampak lingkungan dari produksi jagung.

References

1. THE POTENTIAL OF Enhalus acoroides AS A BIOSTIMULANT TO ENHANCE MAIZE GROWTH AND DROUGHT TOLERANCE |... journal.biotrop.org/index.php/biotropia/article/view/2487THE POTENTIAL OF Enhalus acoroides AS A BIOSTIMULANT TO ENHANCE MAIZE GROWTH AND DROUGHT TOLERANCE journal biotrop index php biotropia article view 2487

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