Seedling growth response of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) to PEG-induced drought stress and different boron levels

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 233 - 238, 17.03.2025

Birgul Guden

https://doi.org/10.31015/2025.1.25

Abstract

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an important oilseed crop; however, its productivity is often adversely affected by drought stress, particularly during the seedling stage. Some micronutrients, such as boron (B), can significantly enhance plants' drought resistance; nevertheless, excessive levels may be toxic. The development of drought-resistant sesame varieties is essential for sustainable cultivation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of drought stress, boron, and the combination of both on sesame seedling traits. Different doses of polyethylene glycol solution (PEG 6000) (PEG) as a drought stress (0; control, -2; P1, and -4; P2 MPa) and boric acid (H3BO3) (B) as a boron source (0; control, 5; B1, and 10; B2 mM) were used to apply to seeds. Drought stress adversely affected sesame seedling growth trait. The increase in PEG levels from 0 to -4 MPa significantly reduced root and shoot length, whereas they did not generate a significant difference in fresh root and fresh shoot weight. Furthermore, the findings indicated that increased B treatments reduced all seedling characteristics in sesame. The overall results indicate that the growth parameters of sesame seedlings were significantly reduced at -4 MPa of PEG and 10 mM concentrations of boron.

Keywords

Fresh root, Fresh shoot, Root lenght, Shoot lenght

References

• Abdel-Motagally, FMF., El-Zohri, M. (2018). Improvement of wheat yield grown under drought stress by boron foliar application at different growth stages. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 17 (2), 178-185. doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2016.03.005.
• Ahmed, M., Kheir, A.M.S., Mehmood, M.Z., Ahmad, S., Hasanuzzaman, M. (2021). Changes in Germination and Seedling Traits of Sesame under Simulated Drought. Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany. 91, 713-726.
• Bahrami, H., Razmjoo, J., Jafari, A.O. (2012). Effect of drought stress on germination and seedling growth of sesame cultivars (Sesamum indicum L.). International Journal of Agricultural Science. 2, 423-428.
• Barnabas, B., Jäger, K., Fehér, A. (2008). The effect of drought and heat stress on reproductive processes in cereals. Plant, Cell & Environment, 31, 11–38. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2007.01727.x.
• Bassil, E., Hu, H., Brown, P.H. (2004). Use of phenyl boronic acids to investigate boron function in plants. Possible role of boron in transvacuolar cytoplasmic strands and cell-to-wall adhesion. Plant Physiology, 136(2), 3383–95. doi: 10.1104/pp.104.040527
• Brdar-Jokanović, M. (2020). Boron toxicity and deficiency in agricultural plants. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(4), 1424. doi.org/10.3390/ijms21041424
• Bor, M., Seckin, B., Ozgur, R., Yılmaz, O., Ozdemir, F., Turkan, I. (2009) Comparative effects of drought, salt, heavy metal and heat stresses on gamma-aminobutryric acid levels of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, 31, 655-659.
• Bouchyoua, A., Kouighat, M., Kouighat, M., Hafid, A., et al. (2023). Evaluation of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) genotypes for tolerance to PEG (polyethylene glycol) induced drought at germination and early seedling growth. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research. 100928.
• Ceccarelli, S., Grando, S., Maatougui, M., Michael, M., Slash, M., Haghparast, R., Rahmanian, M., Taheri, A., Al-Yassin, A., Benbelkacem, A., Labdi, M., Mimoun, H., Nachit, M. (2010). Plant breeding and climate changes. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 148(6), 627-637.
• Culpan, E., Gürsoy, M. (2023). Effects of Different Boron Doses on Germination, Seedling Growth and Relative Water Content of Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.). Selcuk Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences, 37(2), 389-397.
• Dehnavi, M.M., Misagh, M., Yadavi, A., Merajipoor, M. (2017). Physiological responses of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) to foliar application of boron and zincunder drought stress. Journal of Plant Process and Function. 6, 27-36.
• Dey, A., Begum, M., Kabiraj, M. S., Rashid, M. H., & Paul, S. K. (2023). Influence of foliar application of boron on the growth, yield and quality of sesame (cv. BARI Til-4). Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology, 11(12), 2356–2364. doi.org/10.24925/turjaf.v11i12.2355-2363.6364.
• Dissanayake, I., Ranwala, S.M.W., Perera, S.S.N. (2020). Germination and Seedling Growth Responses of Sri Lankan Grown Sesame/Thala (Sesamum indicum L.) for Simulated Drought Conditions. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. 47, 479-490.
• Eaton, S.V. (1940). Effects of boron deficiency and excess on plants. Plant Physiology. 15, 95-107.
• Erbas, M., Sekerci, H., Gul, S., Furat, S., Yol, E., Uzun, B. (2009) Changes in total antioxidant capacity of sesame (Sesamum sp.) by variety. Asian Journal of Chemistry, 21, 5549-5555.
• Eroğlu, A., Topal, S. (2022). Bor içeriği farklı olan filtre atıklarının arpada (Hordeum vulgare L.) çimlenme ve bazı fizyolojik parametrelere etkisi. Doğu Fen Bilimleri Dergisi, 5(1), 46-54.
• Fahad, S., Bajwa, A.A., Nazir, U., Anjum, S.A., Farooq, A., Zohaib, A., Sadia, S., Nasim, W., Adkins, S., Saud, S., Ihsan, M.Z., Alharby, H., Wu, C., Wang, D., Huang, J. (2017) Crop production under drought and heat stress: plant responses and management options. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8, 1147. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.01147
• Frazer, T.E., Silk, W.K., Rost, T.L. (1990). Effect of low water potential on cortical cell length in growing region of maize roots. Plant Physiology. 93, 648–651.
• Goldbach, H.E., Yu, Q., Wingender, R., Schulz, M., Wimmer, M., Findeklee, P., Baluska, F. (2001) Rapid response reactions of roots to boron deprivation. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 4(2), 173-181.
• Hamideldin, N. and Hussein, O.S. (2014). Response of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Plants to Foliar Spray with Different Concentrations of Boron. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society. 91, 1949-1953.
• Hassanzadeh, M., Asghari, A., Jamaati-e-Somarin, S., Saeidi, M., Zabihi-e-Mahmoodabad, R., Hokmalipour, S. (2009). Effects of water deficit on drought tolerance indices of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) genotypes in moghan region. Research Journal of Environmental Sciences. 3, 11-121.
• Hilal, N., Kim, G.J., Somerfield, C. (2011). Boron removal from saline water: A comprehensive review. Desalination. 273, 23-35.
• Hussain, H.A., Hussain, S., Khaliq, A., Ashraf, U., Anjum, S.A., Men, S., Wang, L. (2018) Chilling and drought stresses in crop plants: implications, cross talk, and potential management opportunities. Frontiers Plant Science, 9, 393.
• Islam, F., Gill, R.A., Ali, B., Farooq, M.A., Xu, L., Najeeb, U., Zhou, W. (2016). Sesame. In: Gupta SK (Ed). Breeding Oilseed Crops for Sustainable Production: Opportunities and Constraints. Academic Press, USA, pp. 135-147.
• Keshavarzi, M.H.B. (2012). The effect of drought stress on germination and early growth of Sesamum indicum seedling’s varieties under laboratory conditions. International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development (IJAMAD), Iranian Association of Agricultural Economics, vol. 2(4).
• Khaeim, H., Kende, Z., Jolánkai, M., Kovács, G.P., Gyuricza, C., Tarnawa, Á. (2022). Impact of temperature and water on seed germination and seedling growth of maize (Zea mays L.). Agronomy, 12, 397. doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12020397
• Khodarahmpour, Z. (2011). Effect of drought stress induced by polyethylene glycol (peg) on germination indices in corn (zea mays l.) hybrids. African Journal of Biotechnology, 10(79). https://doi.org/10.5897/ajb11.2639
• Khuong, N.Q., Thuc, L.V., Tran, N.T.B., Huu, T.G. and Sakagami, J. (2022). Foliar application of boron positively affects the growth, yield, and oil content of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). Open Agriculture, 7, 30-38. Kızıl, S., Yol, E. (2018). Influence of salinity and drought stresses on seed germination and seedling growth characteristics in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). Mediterranean Agricultural Sciences, 31(2).
• Liu, C., Dai, Z., Xia, J., Chang, C., Sun, H. (2018) Combined effect of salt and drought on boron toxicity in Puccinellia tenuiflora. Ecotox Environ Safe, 157, 395-402.
• Mehmood, M. Z., Afzal, O., Ahmed, M., Qadir, G., Kheir, A. M. et al. (2021). Can sulphur improve the nutrient uptake, partitioning, and seed yield of sesame? Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14(10). DOI 10.1007/s12517- 021-07229-6.
• Mertens, J., Van Laer, L., Salaets, P., Smolders, E. (2011). Phytotoxic doses of boron in contrasting soils depend on soil water content. Plant Soil. 342, 73–82.
• Mut, Z. And Akay, H. (2010). Effect of seed size and drought stress on germination and seedling growth of naked oat (Avena sativa L.). Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science. 16, 459-467.
• Nable, R.O., Cartwright, B., Lance, R.C. (1990). Genotypic differences in boron accumulation in barley: relative susceptibilities to boron deficiency and toxicity. In: El Bassam, N., Dambroth, M., Loughman, B. eds. Genetic Aspects of Plant Mineral Nutrition. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht , The Netherlands . pp. 243–251.
• Orruno, E, and Morgan, M.R.A. (2007). Purification and characterization of the 7S globulin storage protein from sesame (Sesamum indicun L.). Food Chemistry, 100, 926-934. doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.10.051
• Pickersgill, B., Bedigian, D. (2011). Sesame: The genus sesamum. Medicinal and aromatic plants-industrial profiles. In: Experimental agriculture, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 733–734. Fl, USA: CRC Press. DOI 10.1017/ S0014479711000627
• Pushpavalli, R., Berger, J.D., Turner, N.C., Siddique, K.H., Colmer, T.D. et al. (2020). Cross-tolerance for drought, heat and salinity stresses in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 206(3), 405-419. DOI 10.1111/jac.12393
• Qamar, J., Rehman, A., Ali, M.A., Qamar, R., Ahmed, K., Raza, W. (2016). Boron increases the growth and yield of mung bean. Journal of Advances in Agrıculture, 6(2), 922. doi.org/10.24297/jaa.v6i2.5374
• Reguera, M., Espí, A., Bolaños, L., Bonilla, I., Redondo- Nieto, M. (2009). Endoreduplication before cell differentiation fails in boron deficient legume nodules. Is boron involved in signalling during cell cycle regulation?. New Phytologist, 183(1), 8-12.
• Saxena, N.P., Johansen, C., Saxena, M.C., Silim, S.N. (1993) Selection for drought and salinity tolerance in cool season food Legumes. In: Singh KB, Saxena MC (Eds) Breeding for Stress Tolerance in Cool-Season Food Legumes. Wiley, UK, pp. 245-270.
• Seervi D., Seervi K.S, Choyal P. (2018). The effect of micronutrients applied as foliar spray on morphological & physiological growth of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). International Journal of Chemical Studies, 6(4), 986-989.
• Shireen, F., Nawaz, M.A., Chen, C., Zhang, Q., Zheng, Z., Sohail, H., et al. (2018). Boron: functions and approaches to enhance its availability in plants for sustainable agriculture. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(7), 1856-976. doi: 10.3390/ijms19071856
• Torun, A.A., Yazıcı, A., Erdem, H., Çakmak, İ. (2006). Genotypic variation in tolerance to boron toxicity in 70 durum wheat genotypes. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry. 30, https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/agriculture/vol30/iss1/6
• Tripathy, S. K., Kar, J., Sahu, D. (2019). Advances in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) breeding. In: Al-Khayri, J. M., Jain, S. M., Johnson, D. V. (Eds.), Advances in plant breeding strategies: Industrial and food crops, vol. 6, pp. 577–635. Springer.
• Wei, X., Liu, K., Zhang, Y., Feng, Q., Wang, L. et al. (2015). Genetic discovery for oil production and quality in sesame. Nature Communications, 6(1), 1–10. DOI 10.1038/ncomms9609.
• White, C.A., Roques, S.E., Berry, P.M. (2013). Effects of foliar applied nitrogen fertilizer on oilseed rape (Brassica napus). The Journal of Agricultural Science, 153, 42-55.
• Yol, E., Toker, R., Golukcu, M., Uzun, B. (2015) Oil content and fatty acid characteristics in Mediterranean sesame core collection. Crop Science 52, 2206-2214. doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2014.11.0771