Investigating the effect of humic acid on the water use efficiency, yield, and some physiological characteristics of bell pepper plants under different water levels

Roshaniyan, Mahtab; Alinejadian-Bidabadi, Afsaneh; Maleki, Abbas; Lakzian, Amir

doi:10.22034/iuvs.2023.2012442.1319

Investigating the effect of humic acid on the water use efficiency, yield, and some physiological characteristics of bell pepper plants under different water levels

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mahtab roshaniyan ¹

Afsaneh Alinejadian-Bidabadi ²

Abbas Maleki ³

Amir lakzian ⁴

¹ Ph.D Graduate, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran

² Associate Professor, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran

³ Associate Professor, Department of Water Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran

⁴ Professor Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran

10.22034/iuvs.2023.2012442.1319

Abstract

Extended Abstract
1. Introduction: An experiment in a randomized complete block design with three levels of humic-acid (0 (HA₀), 2 (HA₂), and 4 (HA₄) gr/pot) and four irrigation levels (60 (L₆₀), 80 (L₈₀), 100 (L₁₀₀), 120 (L₁₂₀), percent of soil moisture depletion) with four replications was performed in the research greenhouse at Faculty of Agriculture of Bojnourd University. To prepare the pots, the soil sample was passed through a 2 mm sieve, and humic acid was added to the soil sample according to the experimental treatments. Two bell pepper seedlings were transferred to each pot, and all pots were irrigated according to the experimental treatments. Eighty days after cultivation, Plants were harvested, and soil samples were air dried. Soil texture, soil pH, electrical conductivity (ECe), soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, total chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoid content, water use efficiency, stomatal conductance, and yield were determined by conventional methods.
2. Materials and Methods: An experiment in a randomized complete block design with three levels of humic-acid (0 (HA₀), 2 (HA₂), and 4 (HA₄) gr/pot) and four irrigation levels (60 (L₆₀), 80 (L₈₀), 100 (L₁₀₀), 120 (L₁₂₀), percent of soil moisture depletion) with four replications was performed in the research greenhouse at Faculty of Agriculture of Bojnourd University. To prepare the pots, the soil sample was passed through a 2 mm sieve, and humic acid was added to the soil sample according to the experimental treatments. Two bell pepper seedlings were transferred to each pot, and all pots were irrigated according to the experimental treatments. Eighty days after cultivation, Plants were harvested, and soil samples were air dried. Soil texture, soil pH, electrical conductivity (ECe), soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, total chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoid content, water use efficiency, stomatal conductance, and yield were determined by conventional methods.
3. Results and Discussion: The results showed that the best bell pepper fruit yield was observed in L₈₀H₄₀, L₁₀₀H₄₀, and L₁₂₀H₄₀ treatments, respectively, which had no significant difference, while the highest water use (7136.80 m³ ha^-1) was seen in L₁₂₀HA₀. Also, the lowest values of yield (14.21 g plant^-1) and water use (3584.61 m³ ha^-1) were observed in L₆₀HA₀and L₆₀HA₄₀, respectively.Moreover, the results showed that the maximum value of WUE was obtained in L₈₀HA₄₀ (7.45 kg m^-3), while the lowest WUE value was obtained in L₆₀HA₀ (0.80 kg m^-3) These results can be attributed to the ratio of yield to water use so that the yield has increased with the increase in water use, but the rate of increase in yield is lower than the rate of increase in water use. The amount of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids of the plant increased significantly with the increase in the application of humic acid and irrigation levels. Also, according to the results, it can be recommended to use humic acid to reduce the negative effects of drought stress in bell pepper. The results showed that with the use of the higher amount of humic acid (HA₄) and less irrigation water consumption (80% soil moisture depletion), the fruit yield of bell peppers incresedand the Water consumption was saved, on the other hand, by improving the physical and chemical characteristics of soil and improved the plant growth, crop production increased. Therefore, the application of humic acid can be a sustainable solution to increase the growth of bell pepper in The conditions of drought stress. According to this study's results, increasing the severity of drought stress will result in the reduction of the studied traits,However, humic acid fertilizer treatment can protect the plant against drought stress by increasing growth indicators such as root length, stem length, and relative water content of leaves, that leads to reduction of damage caused by stress.
4. Conclusion: In general, nutrient absorption, pepper growth, and pepper yield were observed in the HA₄₀treatment with an 80% soil moisture level. It seems that the use of humic acid can counteract the detrimental effects of water deficit in soil. Applying humic acid increased the water efficiency in the experimental condition. More soil water content (100 and 120 percent of soil moisture discharge) did not show any significant effect in increasing bell pepper yield. So, based on the research results, HA application and less soil water content (L₈₀) are valuable strategies for increasing the yield and WUE in pepper plant production in greenhouse conditions.

Keywords

: Chlorophyll

Organic acid

Stomatal conductance

Water stress

Aghlmand, S., Esmaeilpour, B., Abbas Zadeh, P., Soltani, A. A. & Jalilvand, P. (2016). Effects of Mycorrhizal Fungi and Salicylic Acid on Growth and Physiological Parameters of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L) Under Water Deficit Conditions. Water and Soil Science, 13, 66-51. (In Persian).

Alam, S. M. (1999). Nutrient Uptake by Plants under Stress Conditions. In: Pessarakli, M., Ed., Handbook of Plant and Crop Stress (pp. 285-313). Marcel Dekker, New York.

Alenazi, M. A., Wahb-Allah, H. S., Abdel-Razzak, A. A., Ibrahim, B. & Alsadon, A. (2016). Water regimes and humic acid application influences potato growth, yield, tuber quality and water use efficiency. American Journal of Potato Research, 93, 463-473. Https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-016-9523-7

Ali, R. A. M., Attia, M. M. & Abd El-All, A. E. (2019). Influence of irrigation treatments and humic Acid (HA) application on vegetative gowth, yield, tuber quality water requirements and Water utilization efficiency (WUE) of potato plants. Journal of Plant Production, 10(9), 793-798. Https://doi.org/10.21608/jpp.2019.60026

Amerian, M., Khoramivafa, M. & Rabani, B. A. (2023). Effect of selenium and humic acid on germination and some morphological characteristics of quinoa under drought and salinity stress. Journal of Vegetables Sciences, 6(2), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.22034/iuvs.2022.537591.1177

Asri, F. O., Demirtas, E. I. & Ari, N. (2015). Changes in fruit yield, quality and nutrient concentrations in response to soil humic acid applications in processing tomato. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 21, 585-591.

Bacilio, M., Moreno, M. & Bashan, Y. (2016). Mitigation of negative effects of progressive soil salinity gradients by application of humic acids and inoculation with Pseudomonas stutzeri in a salt-tolerant and a salt-susceptible pepper. Applied Soil Ecology, 107, 394-404. Https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2016.04.012

Ben-Gal, A., Ityel, E., Dudley, L., Cohen, S., Yermiyahu, U., Presnov, E., Zigmond, L., & Shani, U. (2008). Effect of irrigation water salinity on transpiration and on leaching requirements: A case study for bell peppers. agricultural water management 95, 587-597. Https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2007.12.008

Brennan, R. F., Armour, J. D. & Reuter, D. J. (1993). Diagnosis of Zinc Deficiency. In: Robson, A.D. (eds) Zinc in Soils and Plants. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 55. Springer, Dordrecht. Https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0878-2_12

Calvo Velez, P., Nelson, L. & Kloepper, J. W. (2014). Agricultural uses of plant biostimulants. Plant and Soil, 383, 3-41. Https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2131-8

Chapman, H. D. & Pratt, D. F. (1961). Methods of Analysis for Soil, Plant, and water. University of California Berkeley, CA, USA.

Çolak, Y. B., Yazar, A., Sesveren, S. & Colak, I. (2017). Evaluation of yield and leaf water potantial (LWP) for eggplant under varying irrigation regimes using surface and subsurface drip systems. Scientia Horticulturae, 219, 10-21. Https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2017.02.051

Cruz, D. O., Freitas, B. M., dasilva, L. A., dasilva, M. S. & Bomfim, L. G. (2005). Pollination efficiency of the stingless bee Melipona subnitida on greenhouse sweet pepper. Agicultural and food sciences, 40(12), 1197-1201. Https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100204X2005001200006

Dad, K., Nawaz, M., Hassan, R., Javed, K., Shaheen, A., Zhao, F. & Aurangzaib, M. (2021). Impact of biochar on the growth and physiology of tomato grown in the cadmium contaminated soil. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Reasearch, 34(2), 454-462. Https://doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjar/2021/34.2.454.462

Dada, O. A. & Ogunsesu, Y. O. (2016). Growth analysis and fruit yield of Capsicum chinense, Jacquin, as influenced by compost applied as foliar spray and soil augmentation in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria. Journal of Agriculture and Sustainability, 9, 83-103.

Danish, S., Zafar-ul-Hye, M., Mohsin, F. & Hussain, M. (2021). ACC-deaminase producing plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and biochar mitigate adverse effects of drought stress on maize growth. Plos One Journal, 16(4), e0250286. Https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250286

El-Bassioung, H. S. M. Bakry, B. A. El-Monem Attia, A. A. & Abd Allah, M. M. (2014). Physiological role of humic acid and nicotinamide on improving plant growth, yield, and mineral nutrient of wheat (Triticum durum) grown under newly reclaimed sandy soil. Agriculture Science, 5(8), 687-700. Https://doi.org/ 10.4236/as.2014.58072

El-Hashash, E. F., Abou El-Enin, M. M., Abd El-Mageed, T. A., Attia, M. A., El-Saadony, M. T., El-Tarabily, K. A. & Shaaban, A. (2022). Bread wheat productivity in response to humic acid supply and supplementary irrigation mode in three Northwestern coastal sites of Egypt. Agronomy, 12(7), 1499-1510. Https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12071499

El-Sayed, H. A., Shokr, M. B., Elbauome, H. A. & Elmorsy, A. K. S. A. (2019). Response of sweet pepper to irrigation intervals and humic acid application. Journal of Plant Production, 10(1), 7-16. Https://doi.org/10.21608/jpp.2019.361939

Emami, A. (1996). Method of analyzing plants. Technical J. 982. Research Institute. Tehran University Press, (248 p). (In Persian).

Eshghi, S. & Garazhian, M. (2015). Improving growth, yield and fruit quality of strawberry by foliar and soil drench applications of humic acid. Iran Agricultural. Research, 34, 14-20. Https://doi.org/10.22099/iar.2015.3031

Garcia, A. C., Santos, L. A., Izquierdo, F. G., Sperandio, M.V. L. Castro, R. N. & Berbara, R. L. L. (2012). Vermicompost humic acids as an ecological pathway to protect rice plants against oxidative stress. African Journal of Biotechnology, 47, 203-208. Https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.06.011

Gee, G. W. & Bauder, J. W. (1986). Particle-Size Analysis. In: Klute, A., (Ed), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1. Physical and Mineralogical Methods, Agronomy Monograph No. 9, 2nd Edition (pp. 383-411.). American Society of Agronomy/Soil Science Society of America. Madison, WI. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser5.1.2ed.c15

Ghanbari, F., Cheraghi, M. & Erfani Moghadam, J. (2021). The effect of kaolin on drought stress tolerance and some physiological responses of Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Journal of Vegetables Sciences, 5(1), 63-75. Https://doi:10.22034/iuvs.2020.137652.1122

Haghighi, M. & Najafi, H. (2020). The effect of humic acid on alleviating drought stress effects in tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.). Journal of Vegetables Sciences, 3(2), 147-158. https://doi.org/10.22034/iuvs.2020.63701.1016

Heydari, N., Entesari, M. R., Kheyrabi, J., Farshi A. A., Vaziri, Z. H. & Alaei, M. (2006). Water use efficiency in greenhouse production. Iranian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (IRNCID). 180 pp. (in Persian). https://doi.org/10.22067/jsw.v0i0.31432

Ibrahim, A., Abdel-Razzak, H., Wahb-Allah, M., Alenazi, M., Alsadon, A. & Dewir, Y. H. (2019). Improvement in growth, yield, and fruit quality of three red sweet pepper cultivars by foliar application of humic and salicylic acids, Hort Technology, 29(2), 170-178. Https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH04263-18

Ihuoma, S. O. & Madramootoo, C. A. (2017). Recent advances in crop water stress detection. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 141, 267-275. Https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2017.07.026

Jan, J. A., Nabi, G., Khan, M., Ahmad, S., Shah, P. S. & Hussain, S. (2020). Foliar application of humic acid improves growth and yield of chilli (Capsicum annum L.) varieties. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 33(3), 461-472. Https://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjar/2020/33.3.461.472

Lichtenthaler, H. K. (1987). Chlorophylls and Carotenoids: Pigments of Photosynthetic Biomembranes, In: L. Packer and R. Douce, Eds., Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 148, Academic Press, New York, 1987, pp. 350-382. Https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0076-6879(87)48036-1

Mahmood, N., Abbasi, N. A., Hafiz, I., Ali, I. & Zakia, S. (2017). Effect of biostimulants on growth, yield, and quality of bell pepper cv. Yolo Wonder. Pakistan Journal.of Agricultural Sciences. 54(2), 311-317. Https://doi.10.21162/PAKJAS/17.5653

Manas, D., Bandopadhyay, P. K., Chakravarty, A. & Pal, S. (2014). Effect of foliar application of humic acid, zinc and boron on biochemical changes related to productivity of pungent pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). African Journal of Plant Science. 8, 320-335. Https://doi.org/10.5897/AJPS2014.1155

Mardi, M., Abbasifar, A. & ValizadehKaji, B. (2022). Comparison of the effect of biological and non-biological fertilizers on quantitative, qualitative and phytochemical properties of garlic (Allium sativum L.). Journal of Vegetables Sciences, 5(2), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.22034/iuvs.2021.541559.1180

Mindari, W., Sasongko, P. E., Kusuma, Z., Syekhfani, S. & Aini, N. (2018). Efficiency of various sources and doses of humic acid on physical and chemical properties of saline soil and growth and yield of rice. In AIP Conference Proceedings, (Vol. 2019, No. 1). AIP Publishing. Https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5061854

Moosavi, S. G. (2019). The Effect of Irrigation, Methanol and Humic Acid on Physiological Traits, Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Chicory. Agricultural Journal, 4, 393-406. (In Persian). Https://www.magiran.com/p2071884

Mwando, N.L., Ndlela, S., Meyhöfer, R., Subramanian, S. & Mohamed, S.A. (2022). Immersion in hot water as a phytosanitary treatment for Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Postharvest Biology and Technology, 192, 112026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2022.112026

Nelson, D. W. & Sommers, L. E. (1996). Total Carbon, Organic Carbon, and Organic Matter. In: Sparks, D. L., Page, A. L., Helmke, P. A., Loeppert, R. H., Soltanpour, P. N., Tabatabai, M.A., Johnston, C.T. and Sumner, M. E., Eds, Methods of Soil Analysis (pp. 961-1010.). Part 3-Chemical Methods, Soil Science Society of America Inc., Madison. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser5.3.c34

Olsen, S. R., Cole, C. V., Watanabe, F. S. & Dean, L. A. (1954). Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. U.S.D A Circular No 939. US Government Printing Office, Washington DC.

Paradikovic, N., Vinkovic, T., Vinkovic Vrcek, I., Zuntar, I., Bojic, M. & Medic Saric, M. (2011). Effect of natural biostimulants on yield and nutritional quality: An example of sweet yellow pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plants. Journal of Science Food Agriculture, 91, 2146-2152. Https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.4431

Pourmansour, S., Razzaghi, F., Sepaskhah, A. R. & Moosavi, A. A. (2019). Wheat growth and yield investigation under different levels of biochar and deficit irrigation under greenhouse conditions. Water and Irrigation Management, 9(1), 15-28. (In Persian). Https://doi.org/10.22059/jwim.2019.278053.665

Qin, K. & Leskovar, D. I. (2018). Lignite‐derived humic substances modulate pepper and soil‐biota growth under water deficit stress. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 181(5), 655-663. Https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201800078

Qin, K. & Leskovar, D. I. (2020). Assessments of humic substances application and deficit irrigation in triploid watermelon. Hort Science, 55(5), 716-721. Https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI14872-20

Rostami, G., Moghaddam, M., Saeedi Pooya, E. & Ajdanian, L. (2019). The effect of humic acid foliar application on some morphophysiological and biochemical characteristics of spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) in drought stress conditions. Environmental. Stresses in Crop Sciences, 12(1), 95-110. (In Persian). Https://doi.org/10.22077/escs.2018.1296.1264

Safarzadeh Shirazi, S., Zibaei, Z. & Ostovar, P. (2019). Effect of rice husk biochar on growth and micronutrients concentration of holy basil (Ocimum sanctum L.) under water stress. Plant production research, 26 (2), 101-114.(In Persian). Https://20.1001.1.23222050.1398.26.2.8.5

Saif El-Deen, U. M., Ezzat, A. S. & El-Morsy, A. H. A. (2011). Effect of phosphorus fertilizer rates and application methods of humic acid on productivity and quality of sweet potato. Journal of Plant production, 2(1), 53–66. Https://doi.org/ 10.21608/jpp.2011.85460

Sajadi, F., Sharifan, H. & Jamali, S. (2017). Evaluation the use of Caspian Seawater for Irrigation Green pepper under Greenhouse Conditions. Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage, 11(2), 274-285. (In Persian).

Salehi, B., Bagherzadeh, A. & Ghasemi, M. (2010). Impact of humic acid on growth properties and yield components of three tomato varieties (Lycopersicon esculentum L.). Journal of Agroecology, 2(4), 640-647. (In Persian). Https://doi.10.22067/jag.v2i4.8802

Sankar, B., Jaleel, C. A., Manivannan, P., Kishorekumor, A., Somasundaram, R. & Panneerselvam, R. (2007). Droughtinduced biochemical modifications and proline metabolism in Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench. Acta Botanica Croatica, 66(1), 43-56. Sardans, J., Penuelas, J. & Estiarte, M. (2006). Warming and drought alter soil phosphatase activity and soil P availability in a Mediterranean shrubland. Plant and Soil, 289, 227-238. Https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9131-2

Selladurai, R. & Purakayastha, T. J. (2016). Effect of humic acid multinutrient fertilizers on yield and nutrient use efficiency of potato. Journal of plant nutrition, 39(7), 949-956. Https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2015.1109106

Shaabani, M., Iriti, M., Mortazavi, S. N., Amirmohammadi, F. Z. & Zamanian, K. (2022). The effects of two organic fertilizers on morpho physiological traits of Marigold (Calendula officinalis L.). South African Journal of Botany, 148, 330-335. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2022.04.035

Shokhmgar, M., Seghatoleslami, M., Moosavi, S. G. & Baradaran, R. (2023). Plant growth regulators can affect the physiological traits of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) under deficit irrigation. Gesunde Pflanzen, 75, 2505-2514. Https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-023-00911-7

Sood, T., Sood, S., Sood, V. K., Badiyal, A., Anuradha, Kapoor, S., Sood, V. & Kumar, N. (2023). Characterisation of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum Sendt.) accessions for genetic diversity and population structure based on agro-morphological and microsatellite markers. Scientia Horticulturae, 321, 112308.

Souri, M. K., Yaghoubi Sooraki, F. & Moghadamyar, M. (2017). Growth and quality of cucumber, tomato, and green bean under foliar and soil applications of an aminochelate fertilizer. Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology, 58, 530-536. Https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s13580-017-0349-0

Sun, K., Liang, S., Kang, F., Gao, Y. & Huang, Q. (2016). Transformation 882 of 17 β-estradiol in humic acid solution by ε-MnO2 nanorods as probed by high-resolution mass spectrometry combined with (13) C labeling. Environmental Pollution, (214), 211-218. Https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envpol.2016.04.021

Tabatabaei, H., Mardaninezhad, S. & Zareh, E. (2014). Effect of water stress growth indices, yield and water use efficiency of pepper plant in greenhouse condition. Soil and water research, 28(1), 63-71. (In Persian). Https://20.1001.1.22287140.1393.28.1.1.6.7.3

Thomas, G. W. (1996). Soil pH and soil Acidity. In: Sparks, D.L., Ed., Methods of Soil Analysis Part 3: Chemical Methods (pp. 475-490.), SSSA Book Series 5, Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser5.3.c16

Ukalska-Jaruga, A., Bejger, R., Debaene, G. & Smreczak, B. (2021). Characterization of soil organic matter individual fractions (fulvic acids, humic acids, and humins) by spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques in agricultural soils. Agronomy, 11 (6), 1067-1085. Https://doi.org/ 10.3390/agronomy11061067

Xu, D., Yuan, S., Chen, B., Shi, J., Sui, Y., Gao, L., Geng, S., Zuo, J. & Wang, Q. (2023). A comparative proteomic and metabolomic analysis of the low-temperature response of a chilling-injury sensitive and a chilling-injury tolerant cultivar of green bell pepper. Scientia Horticulturae, 318, 112092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2023.112092

Walkley, A. & Black, I. A. (1934). An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil science, 37(1), 29-38. Https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-193401000-00003

Zeeshan, M., Ahmad, W., Hussain, F., Ahamd, W., Numan, M., Shah, M. & Ahmad, I. (2020). Phytostabalization of the heavy metals in the soil with biochar applications, the impact on chlorophyll, carotene, soil fertility and tomato crop yield. Journal of Cleaner Production, 255, id 120318. Https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120318

Zikki, K. A. F. (2020). Quality of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) affected by drought condition: a thesis presented in the partial fulfilment of the requirements. Master of Philosophy. Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.